Camps for security forces must have proper facilities: HM

Camps for security forces fighting Naxalites should have facilities for power, water and mobile phone connectivity to help the troopers cope with stress, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.
"They should be able to contact their family as per requirement," Singh said.
He also said the security forces must adhere to Standard Operating Procedures and remain alert about their own security.
The home minister was addressing chief ministers of Naxalite-hit states at a meeting being held here two weeks after 25 paramilitary personnel were killed in an ambush in Sukma, Chhattisgarh.
Singh's comments came in the wake of reports that CRPF personnel fighting Naxalites in Chhattisgarh faced serious problems such as fatigue, compounded by lack of potable water and poor mobile networks.

Referring to the anti-Maoist battle, the minister said in addition to information about their place of posting, security forces should have knowledge about the region's language, dialects, traditions and culture so that they could adapt to local conditions as well as earn the trust of the people.

"The government has superior resources, training and technology than the left wing extremists. But there is need for better coordinated efforts to counter the strategy of the extremists," he said.
Singh said success on this front could not be achieved by being "emotional" but through right vision and strategy, the efficient use of resources, knowledge of enemy strengths and weaknesses and training of security forces.

Proper facilities and arrangements for security forces are necessary for success and therefore all these issues have to be considered, he said.