Arjun Munda reaches out to people in Maoist areas

Ranchi : Development must reach the remotest part of the state, Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda said Monday, a day after he began the fourth phase of his road trip through six Maoist strongold districts.

Munda, who began the first phase of his ‘sadak yatra’ in November last year, is covering Ramgarh, Hazaribgh, Chatra, Koderma, Giridih and Dhanbad districts in this round.

Apparently undeterred by the shutdown called by Maoists in the region, Munda told reporters in Chatra: “There is need take development to remote areas of the state. The sadak yatra is not only for road inspection… it is a move to understand ground realities and galvanise the system in remote areas to ensure development.”

On the way, hundreds of Congress workers welcomed him in Ramgarh, overlooking the fact that he is from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“Munda is chief minister of the state and we are welcoming our chief minister not a BJP leader. A chief minister has come to our areas for the first time,” a Congress wokrer told reporters.

Munda has been taking stock of development works such as roads, education and health in villages during his extensive trips across the state. He began the first phase of the sadak yatra in November last year.

More than half of Jharkhand’s population lives below the poverty line. It is also one of the worst affected by Maoist violence with the guerrillas active in 18 of the 24 districts.