8 July:After failing to check naxal activities through its security apparatus, the Union Home Ministry is now all set to launch a media blitzkrieg to overcome the menace.According to the plan, the government through a publicity campaign will tell people, particularly in rural areas, about the ill effects of Naxal violence, how it was hampering development projects and depriving people of prosperity, Home Ministry sources said.
The decision, which comes in the wake of a deadly attack on the elite Greyhound personnel on 29th June along Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border, was taken at a meeting chaired by Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry Vinay Kumar last week.
During the campaign, which will be launched in 33 naxal affected districts, the government will also tell people about major government projects like National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and Forest Act and their benefits to common people.
The prime target of the plan would be the youth so that they are not attracted to the Maoists and take up arms.
It will also try to woo back those who are interested to join the mainstream after giving up violence.
All government media organisations, including Doordarshan, All India Radio, Photo Division, Films Division, Song and Drama Division, Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Press Information Bureau, will be involved in the whole initiative.
The Films Division has been directed to entertain people by screening films dealing with social issues in as many places as they can.
Similar initiative will also be taken by the Song and Drama Division.
Though security of the officials involved in the campaign will be taken care of, the representative of the Song and Drama Division made it clear that they never had problems while performing in Naxal affected areas.
In fact, in certain areas, members of the Maoists groups reportedly encourage people to go for such shows as all their programmes deal with social evils.
Last year, there were 1565 incidents of naxalite violence as against 1509 in 2006. Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand together accounted for 68 per cent of the total incidents and 76 per cent of the total casualties.
Attacks on police and security establishments, killings of innocents, attacks on infrastructure like rail and road transport and power transmission, extortion and other atrocities by the Maoists continued to be reported.courtsey : DD NEWS