Security forces have now set up a new 'Surakhsa Evam Jan Suvidha Camp' in the Karregutta Hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.
Once considered a safe hideout for senior Maoists, the dense forests of the Karregutta Hills will now have a forward operating base (FOB) for the 196th and 205th battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, an elite unit of the CRPF), respectively.
The objective of the new camp is to improve the operational capabilities of the security forces as well as to curb Maoist activities in the border region. The location will also be developed as a specialised training centre for jungle warfare, fieldcraft, tactics and other practical training modules, aimed at enhancing operational capabilities in insurgency-hit regions.
The setting up of the FOB is also expected to help improve essential services such as roads, electricity, drinking water, health facilities, schools, PDS (Public Distribution System) outlets, mobile connectivity and anganwadi centres for villagers in the area.
In April–May this year, Central and state security forces carried out a 21-day comprehensive operation in the dense forests around Karregutta Hills, during which 31 Naxalites were neutralised. They had seized 35 weapons, 450 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and a large number of detonators and other devices, besides 12,000 kg of other materials, including medical supplies, electric equipment, Naxal literature, etc, news agency PTI said, quoting the police.
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As a part of the plan to set up a camp in this strategically important interstate border region, joint teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), both units of the state police, CoBRA's 205th and 210th battalions, and the CRPF's 196th battalion reached Tadpala on November 3. A site was selected in the presence of senior police and CoBRA officials, and the camp was successfully set up the next day, an official told PTI.
Security forces displayed exceptional courage in navigating steep, inaccessible terrain, the absence of roads, the constant threat of IEDs and ambushes, and acute shortage of water while establishing the camp, he said.
As many as 14 IEDs have been recovered and safely defused by bomb disposal teams since the establishment of the camp in the area, he said. At least 22 security camps have been established in Bijapur since 2024. During this period, 202 Maoists were killed in separate encounters, 749 surrendered, and 1,006 were arrested in the district, he said.