Investors in, Maoists out - Hindustan Times
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Investors in, Maoists out

Hindustan Times, Ranchi | ByB Vijay Murty/Sanjoy Dey
Feb 26, 2017 04:28 PM IST

Land and security would not be hurdles anymore in way of setting up industries in Jharkhand.East Singhbhum district became the first district of Jharkhand and Bihar to be ‘liberated’ from left wing extremism

Land and security would not be hurdles anymore in way of setting up industries in Jharkhand. The state government has made 1.76 lakh hectares of land available to investors, even before commencing Jharkhand’s maiden Global Investors Summit (GIS) at Khelgaon on Thursday and Friday.

Last minute preparation in full swing for the global investors’ summit at Mega sports complex in Ranchi(Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times)
Last minute preparation in full swing for the global investors’ summit at Mega sports complex in Ranchi(Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times)

The investors will also get onthe-spot solution for their concern, whether related to land or security. The government has directed DC’s and SP’s of all 24 districts to stay connected through video-conferencing to address the investors’ concerns during the summit.

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“In a bid to shore up investors’ confidence, all DCs and SPs have been asked to remain connected through video-conferencing during the event to reply to district specific queries of investors ” state industry secretary Sunil Burnwal said.

He said there would be eight technical sessions, in which four sessions will be held on Thursday and remaining four on Friday. “The DCs and SPs of all districts would be available in all sessions.

Chief minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday had claimed that land and security would not be an issue for investors in Jharkhand. Left-wing extremism and crime have witnessed a steep fall in the state due to improved law and order in the last two years, Das said, adding, “We are committed to making Jharkhand extremism free by end of 2017.”

The state government is to take the GIS programmes live across the state so that traders, intellectuals and others could see state’s mega development.

Burnwal said a hall has been identified in every district headquarters where LED screens have been installed for live telecast of the programme.

“People can also see the event live on their mobile phones just by clicking on jhargov.tv,” he said.

The state has received unprecedented response for the programme in the country as well as abroad.

Registrations for participation has already crossed the 9,500 mark, while the seating capacity of the auditorium in Khelgaon, where the inaugural function is scheduled, is merely 4,500. In a bid to ensure that participants could see the programme live, over 10 LED screens have been installed at Khelgaon, besides a mobile van which will display the programme in different places.

In wake of the mega event, heavy security arrangement has been made to avert any untoward incident across Ranchi. New traffic guidelines have been introduced to keep the city free of traffic jams. Entry of heavy vehicles have been banned from 6am to 11pm for three days. Director general of police (DGP) DK Pandey on Tuesday flagged off 100 bikes for traffic management during the event.

A first: Entire Red squad surrenders

East Singhbhum district on Wednesday became the first district of Jharkhand and Bihar to be ‘liberated’ from left wing extremism (LWE), with the last active Maoist squad led by notorious Kanhu Munda laying down arms before the police on Wednesday. The rebels laid down one SLR and two pistols.

Incidentally, East Singhbhum happens to be the home district of Jharkhand chief minister, Raghubar Das that has seen loss of over 100 lives in the fight against the Reds registering 100 deaths, including that of a member of Parliament.

The surrenders come as a icing on the cake for the state government that is holding the first ever investors’ summit, claiming left wing extremism in developing Jharkhand would soon be history, affording space to investors to work free and unmolested.

“All seven members of the squad, including a woman, surrendered before us in an atmosphere suffused with thrill, fear and emotion, typical of a Bollywood environment,” said an elated Jamshedpur senior superintendent of police, Anup T Mathew.

He said Gudabanda was the last citadel of Maoists in the district. “With the surrender of the entire squad, the district has become free of Maoists. This would mean the state would save crores of rupees spent on fighting the rebels,” he added.

Rural SP Shailendra Burnwal said a massive hunt for Kanhu was on for the last two years and he was virtually cornered on at least three occasions, but somehow survived. Carrying a reward of Rs. 25 lakh on his head, Kanhu had been instrumental in carrying out several subversive operations in the bordering areas of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. He was the secretary of Maoists Bengal Jharkhand Odisha Regional Committee.

Barring Fogra, who carried Rs. 10 lakh reward, other squad members namely Duglu Munda, Chunnu Munda, Jiten Munda, Shankar and Kaja Munda carried a reward of Rs. 2 lakh each. Their surrender comes barely a month after Rahul, one of the notorious Maoist leaders of the area and accused of killing Jamshedpur MP Sunil Mahato in 2007, had laid down arms before the Bengal police in Kolkata.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 21 out of the 24 Jharkhand districts were affected by LWE and violence has claimed more than 1200 lives since creation of the state after bifurcation from Bihar in 2000. The BJP government under Raghubar Das has been acting tough against the rebels over the last two years.

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