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Modi visit today turns Palamu’s Chiyanki airstrip into a fortress
Jharkhand-Bihar border sealed due to security reasons. Chief minister Raghubar Das on Friday took stock of the preparations and reviewed the security arrangements in Palamu.
Palamu’s Chiyanki airstrip has turned into a fortress ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit for the foundation laying ceremony of the long-pending North Koel reservoir project, locally known as Mandal Dam, in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR), on Saturday.
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation of the Sone river water pipeline project and four other projects which include the rejuvenation of 5000 ponds and the construction of canals in Palamu, Chatra, Garhwa and West Singhbhum. The main function will be held on the Chiyanki airstrip, 60km away from the Mandal Dam area.
Over 2,000 police forces, 800 civil officials and officers from the anti-terrorist squad (ATS), the bomb disposal squad (BDS) and the special protection group (SPG) have been deployed at the venue, as around 100,000 people from Bihar and Jharkhand are expected to attend the event, officials said.
Chief minister Raghubar Das on Friday took stock of the preparations and reviewed the security arrangements in Palamu. Administration officials said that the Prime Minister will land in Gaya airport in Bihar, from where he’ll fly to Palamau in an Army helicopter, of which there will be three in service.
In view of the PM’s visit, a joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district armed police (DAP) have launched massive anti-Maoist operations in the area for the past three days and recovered a cache of explosives from Latehar forest on Thursday. An encounter between security forces and Maoists also took place on Friday. Palamu superintendent of police (SP) Indrajit Mahatha said that an intensive checking drive at all strategic entry and exit points to the state began on Wednesday, with vigil extending to the borders with Bihar.
The Mandal dam is stated to benefit the farmers of Jharkhand and Bihar. The project on North Koel River flowing through Palamu and Garhwa districts in Jharkhand was started in 1972 but stopped by the forest department, Bihar, in 1993. The union cabinet in August 2017 approved a proposal to complete the project. The total cost of the project assessed on the date was ₹2,391.36 crore and it is expected to irrigate 1.11 lakh hectares of land, including over 91,000 hectares of land in Bihar and 20,000 hectares of land in Jharkhand.
