Twenty jungle warfare schools in next 3 years

The Centre will set up 20 jungle warfare schools over the next three years to teach guerrilla tactics to policemen fighting naxalites and insurgents, reports Aloke Tikku.

The Centre will set up 20 jungle warfare schools over the next three years to teach guerrilla tactics to policemen fighting naxalites and insurgents.

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The government has announced plans to upgrade four training schools of central paramilitary forces including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for training in counter insurgency and jungle warfare.

The home ministry has decided to set up a specialised commando unit within the CRPF, comprising personnel armed and trained to fight naxalites in the jungles. Nearly 9,500 personnel would be recruited for this unit, Commando Battalions for Resolute Action or CoBRA.

But there was recognition at the home ministry in Delhi that the lack of specialised training to state police personnel would still come in the way of state police personnel taking the naxals head-on.

Four training centres will be set up in each of the five states: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam. They will have a combined capacity to train 15,000 personnel every year. 8 centres are targetted for completion before March 2009.

The home ministry would bear the expenditure for trainers and the necessary equipment for five years.