Tower of change in Abujmarh: 30 years on, 4G mobile network reaches a once-impenetrable Maoist headquarters

NAGPUR: Thirty years after cell phones took the nation by storm, the technology has finally reached India's remotest corner on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Gadchiroli's Kawande.
Once a forbidden talking tool in the impenetrable ‘home' of Maoists on the foothills of the guerrilla headquarters of Abujmarh, the hamlets are suddenly abuzz with the cellular ringtone. The installation of a 4G mobile tower at Midadapalli village earlier this week revolutionised connectivity for the vulnerable Madia tribals, after a police post was opened earlier this month at Kawande, defying Maoist threats.

Termed the ‘tower of change', cell phone connectivity is now expected to pave the way for development. "Now, the entire stretch from Dodhraj to Pengunda, Nelgunda, and Kawande has 4G connectivity," said SP Gadchiroli, Neelotpal, adding that a 27km all-weather road will be built from Dhodraj to Kawande, leading deep into Chhattisgarh through Korma nullah. This will help the govt reach the last beneficiary of a govt scheme and provide medical support, he said. Six police posts have been opened in the last two years at the foothills of Abujmarh.
The installation of mobile phone towers was once banned by the Maoists' ‘jantana sarkar', which ruled Kawande before combat boots decimated their dominance. Concrete memorials of guerrillas shot in encounters were recently dismantled by security forces and these bear proof of their governance and domination in these remote hamlets. These so-called liberated zones were booby-trapped to stop entry of security forces.
The police post at Kawande was the third in the area after Nelgunda and Pengunda, following expulsion of Maoists from these regions. With the opening of police posts, the secured zones now have 46 mobile phone towers. The newly erected mobile tower at Midadapalli has extended its catchment area up to Kawande, where mobile phone connectivity has now paved way for govt benefits, including the flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana. "Govt schemes are generally linked to mobile phone connectivity, and OTP generation is part of the process," said a police official.
Under the govt's ‘dadalora khidki yojana' (single-window benefit scheme), police have managed to deliver benefits to more than nine lakh tribals, including seven lakh in just two years. Around 580 villages in Gadchiroli are now part of different mobile phone networks, with 455 hamlets getting connected in just two years, while another 98 are under construction and 27 are to be installed shortly.
The elimination of key Maoist dalams and neutralisation of their 32 top cadres paved way for building 21 bridges and more than 222km of road. "A day before the opening of the Kawande post, security forces built a foot overbridge on Midadapalli nullah for movement of technical and commando teams to reach the site. This road will now facilitate transportation of pregnant women and others in need of emergency medical interventions year-round, which was unthinkable in the past. These hamlets remain marooned during the monsoon," said Neelotpal.