Images for representation purposes only. |Photo source: SR Raghunathan
Officials said on Sunday (March 16, 2025) that a remote village in Sukma area in Naxal, Chhattisgarh, had obtained the first mobile phone tower.
They said the tower, installed in the Central Reserve Team (CRPF) camp in the village of Tekulagudem on Holi, will provide cellular connections to a group of villages in the interior area.
Tekulagudem was the first site for the paramilitary forces to establish a forward combat base in January last year, aiming to carry out specific anti-Maoist operations and help local governments in March 2026 to eliminate the part of the coalition government’s announcement of the Elimination of Left Extremism (LWE) to usher in development projects in the region.
“On March 13, a BSNL mobile tower was established within the forward operating base of Tekulagudem in CRPF, which is operated by its 150th Battalion. This is the first such facility in the field,” a senior official from the security agency told pti.
“The village is located inside the Sukma district that Naxar violently attacked, and shares its borders with Bijapur, another LWE-affected village in the BASTAR area,” he said.
According to another official, the mobile tower will provide much-needed cellular connections to villagers and security personnel in Tekulagudem, as well as the adjoining small villages of Timmapuram, Jonaguda and Puvarti.
Puvarti is the village of Hidma, who was wanted commander of the first battalion of the People’s Liberation Guerrillas.
According to CRPF officials, BSNL officials traveled from a ceremony at Sukma headquarters and the state capital Raipur (about 600 kilometers) to operate the mobile tower switch. Villagers were also invited to participate in the event on the eve of Holi Festival.
They said a special camp was held on March 13 to distribute SIM cards to locals and activate them.
The CRPF established Tekulagudem forward operating base in January 2024, within the scope of the Jagargunda Police Station. On the day the base was established, the unit lost three personnel and 15 were injured, when Naxals attacked Naxals from multiple directions.
For this operation, up to 15 CRPF personnel were recommended for the operation’s Brave Medal, which ended after the troops deployed a newly sensitive armored vehicle (wheel-armored amphibious platform), led by its commander Seikholen Haokip.
Tekulagudem is a hotbed of Naxal’s violence. About 23 security personnel were killed in a 2021 attack. Officials say the importance of this forward operating base is that it has led to 15 such CRPF and security bases in South Basta’s most affected areas of violence.
They said that over the past few years, CRPF has created three such foundations in Chhattisgarh and plans to open about 14 this year.
publishing – March 16, 2025 01:53 pm isst
