In this Naxal-stronghold of Chattisgargh, Koleng hamlet sticks out like a sore thumb. Since Independence, no civil servant had dared to visit this place. This seemingly non-ending night of fear ended recently when the District Collector of Bastar Mr. Rajat Bansal did the unthinkable. He not only ventured out in the remote Maoist-controlled village of Koleng, but also spent a night there!
With a small party of officials, along with the Bastar’s Superintendent of Police, Mr Bansal tried to be as inconspicuous as possible during the visit. Instead of taking the official vehicle, which normally becomes the first target of Naxals, he rode a bike!
Koleng village, which lies in Chattisgarh’s Darbha block, rose to sudden notoriety in 2013. It was here that a convoy of several top leaders from the Indian National Congress was attacked by the Naxalite insurgents of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Twenty Seven people were killed in the attack, including former state minister Mahendra Karma and Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel.
Despite all the odds and strict instruction by forces of not visiting the village after late evening, Mr. Bansal stuck to his decision and reached the village with a small team including the Superintendent of Police, Bastar.
REACHING THE VILLAGE
In an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Bansal said “The road connecting the village is under construction and a lot of difficulties are faced by the locals as well as the administration. As it is a sensitive area, the extremists have also taken advantage of the poor connectivity by damaging vehicles and killing innocent people. One of the reasons for visiting the village was also to check the condition of roads linking the village to the district headquarter.”
Taking this into consideration, Mr. Bansal took the same route on a motorbike and inspected the road while reaching the village. He said, “There are four different gram panchayats in the Koleng hamlet located at a distance of 45 km from the district headquarter. We took the same route via bike and trekked to access the panchayats.”
PURPOSE OF VISIT
Mr. Bansal has taken a keen interest in addressing the pressing issues of the villagers living in sensitive villages of the district. His aim of reaching out to these sensitive areas himself is a big turn around in the relationship of the administration and the villagers.
Mr. Bansal said, “It has become really important for the administration to reach such villages and interact with the people living there. This not only helps in building a good relationship with them but also boosts the morale of the force. Spending a night with the villagers creates a comfort zone and a different level of interaction for them, which is not possible by sitting at the district headquarters.”
“Unlike urban or plain areas, villagers in the Bastar region are quite hesitant in opening up in front of the administration. Due to the mistrust of the officials, they take time in addressing their issues. Therefore, such visits build a rapport with them and it becomes easy for the administration to help them overcome the barriers they are facing”, he added.
THE EXPERIENCE OF VISITING KOLENG HAMLET
During the 24-hour visit to the four-gram panchayats of Koleng hamlet, Mr. Bansal forgot about his everyday lifestyle and followed the traditional practices of the village. He experienced the village life by trying the traditional cuisine at villagers’ houses, playing traditional instruments like drums, engaging in local sports like racing, tug of war, etc., and interacting with the youth and other villagers during evening walks to the village and chaupals after breakfast.
Mr. Bansal while talking about his interaction with the youth in the village, he said “A very interesting point that came up during our visit was that the youth asked the SP to set up police camps in the village. Sitting in the district headquarters. But the fact is otherwise. It’s because of fewer facilities provided to them by the administration that they lean towards Naxals.”
TRANSFORMING THE REMOTE VILLAGES
Even before listening to the villagers, Mr. Bansal got to know about their issues. He said, “After meeting them a plan instantly came to my mind. Among other things, we have planned to make Koleng hamlet a hub of education, health, sports, and culture so as to transform it completely. When we put this idea in front of them, the interaction becomes more fruitful rather, much more than than a routine village meeting”, he added.
All these moves will undoubtedly affect the region in a big way. Years from now, when normalcy hopefully returns to the region, a large part of the credit would go the officers like Mr Bansal.
