RAIPUR: Emboldened by an effete administration and their own increased firepower for a war of attrition against the Indian state, Maoist rebels are now beginning to show flexibility in strategy - from striking against the police and paramilitary forces in dense forests, they are now targeting
infrastructure around urban areas to cripple Chhattisgarh's economy.
In May last year, the Maoists - active in 13 out of the 18 districts of Chhattisgarh - struck vital power infrastructure in the state's tribal region of Bastar for the first time that left it in darkness for a fortnight.
This year, too, the red brigade has struck in the same manner, blasting high tension power transmission towers and uprooting poles, causing losses worth crores of rupees to the state government.
While large parts of Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur and Narayanpur are
facing blackouts since June 5 when the rebels blew up cable towers, public sector units like National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), railways, the state electricity board and even private players like the Essar group are incurring heavy losses every day.
NMDC, India's biggest state-run iron producer, had to halt production at its Bailadila mines from where it produces about 60,000 metric tons of iron ore per day and also supplies iron ore to Ispat Industries Limited, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and Vikram Ispat and some overseas buyers. Communication systems in Bastar are in disarray following the blackout.
An NMDC spokesman told TOI that this could result in losses to the tune of Rs 110 crore, apart from the fact that it took around 10 days to restore the power supply.
Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB), whose towers and transmission lines have been targeted by the Maoists, maintains that it's losing around Rs 2 crore a week because of power failures, apart from other costs involved in restoring towers and transmission lines.
Security analysts say the attacks on infrastructure in Chhattisgarh represents a clearly outlined and documented strategy.
"The Maoists' real aim is to carry out such operations nearer India's economic and political hubs - like Mumbai and Delhi - to spread panic and create an impression of lawlessness and anarchy," says Ajai Sahni, director of Institute of Conflict Management,
New Delhi.
After the last such attack, CSEB member (transmission & distribution) V K Jain said more than 180 personnel, including engineers and others, are working round the clock to re-erect the towers under tight security.
The Essar group, which has an eight million ton iron ore plant near Kirandul in South Bastar, has faced the brunt of Maoist attacks with several of their heavy vehicles set afire in the last one month.
Moreover, the power failure in the region has adversely hit supplies to Essar's pellet plant in Visakhapatnam. The iron ore slurry is pumped through a 267 km pipeline, which is the second longest in the world.
Another soft target for the Maoists are the railways which suffered heavy losses following the blackouts - nearly 36 iron ore rakes are transported to Vizag-Jagdalpur-Visakhapatnam section per day. The red brigade has regularly hit the single-line rail track on this section to cripple goods transport.
The Maoists have also targeted captive mines of public sector blue chip, SAIL - they looted 1.75 tonnes of explosives being carried to Mahamaya Mines from where the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) gets its iron ore supplies on March 28 this year. Within three months, the Maoists struck again on June 4, triggering a mine blast in the area killing three CISF men.
BSP MD R Ramaraju admits that Maoist activities near the captive mines of the plant are a matter of grave concern. "We have taken steps to streamline the security arrangements in coordination with the CISF," he said.
Chief minister Raman Singh describes the Maoist attack on infrastructure as cowardice. He said millions of people, mostly tribals of Bastar, were suffering because of power failure. "The state government is taking steps to protect infrastructure, as far as possible," he added.