From red zone to green shoots: CM Vishnu Deo Sai unveils 'post-Naxal' blueprint for Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR/NEW DELHI: (Apr 12) Two weeks after Chhattisgarh was declared "Naxal-free", Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has signalled a decisive shift from internal security operations to large-scale rural development and rehabilitation of surrendered Maoists.

The chief minister's ambitious plans also includes developing Bastar, once identified as a hotbed of Naxal violence, as a tourist destination, besides promoting agricultural activities in the region.

In an interview to PTI recently in New Delhi, the chief minister credited the "double-engine government" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strategic deadline set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the successful eradication of decades-old Naxal insurgency.