New Delhi: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), known for creating engineering marvels in the most challenging terrains in Ladakh and the Northeast, has now turned to the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh to build roads in a Naxal commander’ Hidma’s turf after no private contractor dared to take on the task.
This makes Chhattisgarh the only Naxal-affected state where the BRO has been deployed. It began work in a remote area of Bijapur district on Monday, Times of India reported.
Between 2004 and 2006, amid intense Maoist violence, the BRO built a 100 km-long road connecting Jagdalpur and Geedam in Dantewada, which remains the best in Bastar. This time, the BRO has been tasked with building two new roads in the heart of the Maoist insurgency in Bastar: one from Hidma’s Puwarti village to Silger, and another from Tarrem to Kondapalli.
BRO’s Role in Countering Naxalism in Bastar
Puwarti is Hidma’s native village, located barely 2 km from Tekulguda, where 23 security personnel were killed in a Maoist ambush in April 2021. Silger, on the other hand, became the site of intense protests after three villagers were killed in police firing on 17 May 2021.
Local contractors, fearing for their safety, were too scared to take on projects in these areas, with several tenders receiving no responses. Home Minister Amit Shah intervened, and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was assigned the task instead, the report said.
Strategic Importance of New Roads in Bijapur District
Details of the routes have not been revealed but the Tarrem and Kondapalli roads will be 18 km long is expected to be completed by June 2025 at a budget of Rs 40 crore and the one connecting Silger to Puwarti will be reportedly 11 km in length.
The project is aimed at achieving the home minister’s vow to eliminate Left Wing Extremism from India by March 2026, Bastar range IG P Sundarraj said.
Development and Security Implications of BRO’s Project
Around 200 Maoists are believed to be present in the region, providing security for Hidma and carrying out insurgent activities. This area has the largest concentration of PLGA cadres, and the routes planned by the government hold significant strategic importance.
The report cited Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra saying that BRO is constructing roads at the most critical junctions of Bijapur which has 5 CRPF camps at Chinnagelur, Gundem, Tarrem, Chutwahi and Kondapalli.
The CoBRA and Special Task Force personnel are conducting operations in the region. Three more road projects are awaiting approval: Kondapalli to Pamed (26 km), Meenagudam to Kanchal (13 km), and Elmagunda to Puwarti (51 km).
The new roads will not only give security forces faster access to core Maoist zones, but they will also help the government extend welfare and development schemes to remote villages. Improvements in health, education, and mobile connectivity are expected.
Officials say this marks a turning point in the decades-old conflict, where roads once riddled with IEDs have been steeped in bloodshed and loss.
