New Delhi: A fleet of 10 helicopters will be
pressed into service to assist the over 80,000 heavily armed
central paramilitary troops as part of an elaborate anti-Naxal
offensive across the country.
The helicopters will be stationed at different locations
like Ranchi in Jharkhand and Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
"The helicopters would be used both for dropping
commandos as reinforcements for the operations and casualty
evacuation purposes. They will be at the disposal of the
Commander of the operations at Raipur (Chhattisgarh)," CRPF
Director General A S Gill told a new agency.
Three Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters, inducted in the
BSF air wing, have been already been stationed at Ranchi and
Raipur.
The CRPF has also employed about 80 specialist doctors on
a contract basis, who will be part of the anti-Naxal
operations. The move was taken to bring down troop causalities
and ensure immediate medical care.
The CRPF, which is providing the largest number of
central security personnel (about 58,000) for anti-naxal
operations, has employed on contract specialist doctors in
orthopaedics, medicine, surgery and opthalmology along with
general doctors from the states.
"We have brought on contract almost 80 specialist
doctors from various streams of medicine from the states where
our forces are deployed. These doctors will be stationed with
the battalions and would be rushed in for providing medical
care for the jawans in operations," Gill said.
Acknowledging that there has been a bit of shortage of
doctors in the force, Gill said with these contractual doctors
onboard, "we will be able to address the response time during
causalities in combat and other health-related issues of the
men in the dense jungles and difficult terrain."
Gill also said that for achieving the best and precise
results during operations the force has brought a "change in
tactics" and operational strategies.
The forces are also taking the help of various technical
gadgets like GPS devices and satellite imagery for studying
the jungles and detecting possible naxal hideouts.
The troops of the combined forces -- CRPF, ITBP and BSF
-- have been placed at various locations in the naxal-affected
states and will take up full-fledged operations under a single
command soon, though small surgical operations in certain
states have already began.
PTI
