No flag hoisting in 500 villages in Chhattisgarh

JAGDALPUR: Flag hoisting ceremony will not be held in more than 500 villages in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Independence Day on Wednesday, as these villages had been deserted and 157 schools in the area closed down due to the hostilities between Maoist naxalites and security forces.

Residents of the deserted villages have taken shelter in about a dozen relief camps started by the State Government.

About 3,000 students enrolled in 50 schools and 51 Aanganwadi centres, who have been given shelter at the relief camp at Dornapal village, will together attend the flag hoisting ceremony at the camp, official sources said.

About 157 Ashram (residential) schools in Dantewada district in Bastar division have been closed down due to increased hostilities between the naxalites and security forces after the anti-naxal movement 'Salwa Judum' was launched in June 2005 with government support. More than 500 villages have also been deserted.

About 12 of the 16 districts in Chhattisgarh have been declared naxalite-affected.