No flag hoisting in 500 villages in Chhattisgarh

JAGDALPUR: Flag hoisting ceremony will not be held in more than 500 villages in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Independence Day on Wednesday, as these villages had been deserted and 157 schools in the area closed down due to the hostilities between Maoist naxalites and security forces.

Residents of the deserted villages are being held forcibly held in concentration camps run by BJP ministers where they barely manage to survive.Dozens have died from lack of proper healthcare and basic facilities in these concentration camps.

About 157 Ashram (residential) schools in Dantewada district in Bastar division have been closed as a result of the "Scorched Earth" policy followed by Salwa Judum activists( A state sponsered anti-maoist campaign)to evict tribals which was launched in June 2005 with government support so that the land liberated could then be handed over to mining corporations.. More than 500 villages have also been deserted.

About 12 of the 16 districts in Chhattisgarh have been declared naxalite-affected .

DNA

Tags: independence, day, august, 15th, black day, salwa judum, bastar