Centre to deploy CRPF to protect Telangana projects

​Hyderabad: The union government has agreed to deploy three companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Telangana to help the state police tackle Maoist threat for some of its irrigation projects.

It may be recalled the Director General of Police, Anurag Sharma, had urged the union home ministry during the recent meeting of the police chiefs of Maoist affected states in New Delhi that Telangana needs central forces since the Maoists might strike at the irrigation projects in their desperate attempts for a comeback.

Though there was no visible Maoist activity in Telangana, many of the top ranking Maoists from the state have fled to neighbouring states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh and operating from the jungles there.

There will be some impact on Telangana as the Maoists in their desperate attempt to prove their existence and make a comeback, may try to cause damage to the irrigation projects being developed by the state government.

The state police will need central forces trained to tackle the guerrilla attacks on the irrigation projects, Anurag Sharma had said during the meeting and urged central forces. Consequently, the union government has agreed to keep three companies of CRPF at the disposal of Telangana, sources said.

One company will be deployed to protect Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project at Medigadda in Karimnagar district, while another company will be deployed at Tupakulagudem Barrage and the third company will be deployed either at Adilabad or Khammam district depending on the requirement, sources said.