PM Modi lauds Maharashtra initiative for Naxal areas

'A special congratulations to my sisters and brothers of Gadchiroli and the surrounding areas,' PM Modi posted

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Maharashtra government’s initiative in the Naxal-affected areas of Gadchiroli for its all round development - a day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the district and announced a slew of measures.

"I laud the Maharashtra government's efforts to ensure all-round development in remote and Maoist-affected areas. This will certainly boost 'Ease of Living' and pave the way for even more progress. A special congratulations to my sisters and brothers of Gadchiroli and the surrounding areas,” Modi posted on X on Thursday.

“North Gadchiroli has become completely Naxal free…South Gadchiroli too very soon would be Naxal free…and I am very sure about that…Naxalism is nearing its end in Maharashtra…Gadchiroli is not the last district, but first district. In the last four to five years, there has not been any recruitment of Maoist cadres. Besides, several Naxal commanders have surrendered and this has completely broken the backbone of the outlawed movement,” Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister, said during his visit on Wednesday.

From board a helicopter, Fadnavis conducted an aerial review of the Gatta-Gardewada-Todgatta-Wangeturi road and the Tadguda bridge in the district.

Fadnavis inaugurated the 32-km-long Gatta-Gardewada-Wangeturi road and bus services of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on the Wangeturi-Gardewada-Gatta-Aheri route in the district.

“People getting the MSRTC bus services after 75 years of Independence…its a very important day today,” he said about the route which would connect Maharashtra to Chhattisgarh.

Fadnavis is the first CM to visit this remote area and celebrate the transformation of the region, once cut off for six months due to heavy rains and floods, and now embraces the flow of progress.

The CM also interacted with school children, who wished him saying - “Happy New Year, Sir”.

The CM also visited police tents in Pengunda.

He also inaugurated several facilities of Lloyds Metals in the district - which is being transformed as the second ‘Steel City’ of India after Jamshedpur.