MHA approves proposal to install 412 mobile towers in LWE affected areas

Bihar Polity and Governance

In a bid to increase its reach in Maoist-hit regions of Bihar, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the proposal to install 412 mobile towers to improve telecom network in such places.
All these towers would be installed either in police stations or camps of police and paramilitary forces, as the Maoists have often been targeting such towers in the past.
Officials of MHA said the mobile towers would strengthen the telecom network resulting in increased mobile penetration in the Left Wing Extremism (Lwe)-affected and other areas facing security challenges.
The Maoists often target school buildings, roads, railways, bridges, health infrastructure and communication facilities in these areas.
Lack of communication facilities not only effects the work of security forces, but also hampers the development work in these areas.
The absence of mobile services have made it tough for security forces to operate and get timely help in critical situations, leading to loss of lives in some incidents.
The idea was mooted on receiving complaints of poor mobile connectivity from security forces and people engaged in development projects in these areas.
In order to fix this problem, the MHA had identified installation of 412 solar-powered telecom towers in LWE areas. The solar-powered telecom towers in these regions, which will not only save fuel worth millions of rupees every year but also reduce carbon emission.

LWE Areas or Red Corridor:

The Red Corridor is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India that experience considerable Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.
The Naxalite group mainly consists of the armed cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). These are also areas that suffer from the greatest illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation in modern India, and span parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh states. As per Ministry of Home Affairs, altogether 1048 incidents of Left-wing extremism (LWE) violence took place in these 10 states in 2016.
All forms of naxalite organisations have been declared as terrorist organizations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967). According to the Government of India, as of July 2011, 83 districts (this figure includes a proposed addition of 20 districts) across 10 states are affected by left-wing extremism[11][12] down from 180 districts in 2009.