Bus services become agent of hope and progress in Maoist stronghold

A new bus service connects Pamed and Bijapur, easing travel for 50 villages in Maoist-affected Bastar, transforming lives and boosting local economy.

For decades, the dense forests of Pamed held stories of isolation, fear and insurgency close.

Security personnel in a camp in Chhattisgarh. (ANI) (ANI)

Informally known as the capital of the Maoists, this remote region of 10,000 people in Bastar’s Bijapur district was cut off from the rest of the world, the isolation styming efforts by the government to push back the rebels and win over villagers.

Residents – who largely hailed from the tribal community - were forced to undertake arduous journeys for basic necessities to Bijapur either