Satellite backing for Naxal war

Top officials of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will soon start tracking the outfit’s drive against Naxals through satellite.

Top officials of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will soon start tracking the outfit’s drive against Naxals through satellite.

HT Image

With the help of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country’s frontline anti-Naxal fighting force has started setting up command centres in Delhi and in the capitals of the Naxal-hit states. Officials at the command cen tre will be able to observe the progress of the operations live on their television sets, and guide the forces accordingly.

CRPF Director General A S Gill told HT: “All these centres will be fully functional by the end of the year.”

Initially, these centres would focus on the operations against the Maoists. Later, similar centres could be created for monitoring operations in insurgency hit states like Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.

ISRO has already mapped Naxal-infested areas in different states and provided the CRPF with three-dimensional imagery that will help correctly identify the rough terrain and approach roads in dense jungles, spot Maoist bases and deal with them, a CRPF officer said.

“Earlier, we could know field positions only on the maps, but with the help of the 3-D maps now, the force will be able to identify the locations where the operations are being carried out and tell the forces what route to take to avoid landmines and casualties.,” he added.

The force may also use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to transmit live videos and pictures of operation sites to the command centres.