Internet Revolution: Internet revolution in Maoist corridor kicks off video connect with collector | Nagpur News

Nagpur: Trust Internet to power a revolution in the highly sensitive liberated corridor of Maoists on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border after tribals of Aheri taluka’s Regulwahi village held a videoconference with the collector and senior officials to voice their demands and grievances. Wallowing in anonymity and apathy for decades, the hamlet scrambled to find its place in the sun after the miracle Internet buzz on April 19.Though the virtual meet this week was scheduled to revolve around rain-preparedness and pending status of infrastructure development to thwart floods, Gadchiroli administration’s efforts yielded a wholistic outcome with tribals stressing on other aspects too, including mobile and road connectivity, reliable power supply, forest rights, forest produce and jobs.Collector (in-charge) Vijay Bhakare said, it’s perhaps the first time in India such an initiative was kicked off by the district administration to reach out to remote areas, where connectivity is a big hurdle.“It was a three-tier communication with the village, taluka and district-level officials were present in the same digital platform, where one can see and hear every one accessing the system,” said Bhakare, adding erecting mobile phone towers in 286 villages defying guerrilla threats had helped achieve the impossible. “Senior officials issued orders for rectification as tribals voiced their grievances,” said Bhakare, adding govt schemes and benefits were also discussed with tribals in local dialect.A 21-year-old woman sarpanch from Arewada in Bhamragarh highlighted the need for jobs to empower villagers among other issues during the audio-visual session.Zilla Parishad CEO Ayushi Singh stated women stressed on empowerment and benefits from govt schemes. “Instructions were issued to medical officers to ensure their reach in the remote areas, which are marooned during the monsoon to ensure the ailing and pregnant women are not left stranded without assistance,” she said.Apart from roads, mobile phone connections, tribals also highlighted their need for better education and health facilities as teachers and medical staff are often found missing from their designated place of posting near their village.Regulwahi was one of the villages that remained cut-off from the rest of the district, which got a mobile tower erected, defying tumultuous Maoist opposition.As senior officials, like collector, zilla parishad CEO, tehsildars, naib tehsildars and other officials from forest and other department cannot reach interiors, fearing Maoist backlash in their Red zone, an arrangement was made on an experimental basis in some of the farthest hamlets of the liberated zones for establishing a mass contact through an initiative labelled ‘janasanvadatun sushanakade’ (public connect to good governance).Collector Bhakare also said instructions have been issued to ensure tribal prepare job cards and other crucial documents like Aadhaar cards, linking them with the banks, mutations in the 7/12 extracts, caste and income certificates without delaying or hurdling them with red tape.