By IANS,
Raipur : Paramilitary troopers and police housed in at least 36 schools and hostels would be shifted out to solve the problems being faced by students in the insurgency-hit Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, an official said Monday.
Talking to IANS, Bastar Divisional Commissioner Durgesh Chandra Mishra said: “Keeping in view the problems being faced by students and the impact on education, it has been decided to remove security forces from 36 schools and hostels.”
At least 90 battalions of paramilitary forces, besides police, are stationed in the Bastar division to fight Maoist insurgency.
In the absence of infrastructure in remote hamlets of Bastar, schools and hostels run by the tribal development department were used to accommodate the troopers.
Soon after the troopers moved in, the Maoists started targeting the school buildings and both teachers and students avoided attending classes fearing violence.
At a meeting, held Sunday under the chairmanship of the divisional commissioner, district collectors, police and paramilitary officers decided to shift the troopers from 36 Bastar schools and hostels to alternative accommodation.