Naxals damage bridge with IED blast in Chhattisgarh; none hurt

Naxals have damaged the bridge on Dumam river by triggering an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said on Saturday.

Nobody was injured in the incident, a senior officer said.

The bridge on the Dumam river which connects Kuakonda and Katekalyan development block headquarters in Dantewada, was not only strategically important but also crucial for the people living in this inaccessible region, he said.

According to villagers, a group of Maoists blew up the bridge between Tumakpal and Tetam villages on Friday evening, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

"At present, a lot of villagers from Bastar region who work in industries and other places of neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are returning home through jungles amidst the coronavirus lockdown," he said.

The SP further said that such bridges and road connectivity helps healthcare personnel to reach villages in interior areas and conduct a medical examination of migrant labourers who have returned.

Earlier, naxals had damaged roads on this route at several places, but now being afraid of a police camp to be set up at Tetam, they have destroyed the bridge in frustration, he said.

A search operation is on in the area, Pallava added.