A blood donation camp organised by CRPF’s 131st battation at Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna on Saturday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Nov. 12: It was a day of celebrations for the personnel of the 131st battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at its headquarters at Moin-ul-Haq stadium in Patna on Saturday. The battalion has bagged the trophy for innovation in training for “counter insurgency and anti-terrorism (Ciat)”.

Both jawans and officials of the battalion lined up to donate blood at a camp organised in the morning to mark the celebrations.

Dr Dilip Sen, a noted pathologist from Patna who inaugurated the camp, said: “Blood donation is a great service to the humanity.”

A cultural programme was organised in the evening to regale the jawans.

Commandant of the battalion Vidhan Chandra Patra said he received the trophy from Union minister of State for home Jitendra Singh on the 72nd anniversary celebration of force at Gurgaon group centre on November 1. “The battalion has been rewarded for its commendable job in anti-Naxalite operations during 2010-11.”

The commandant said a total of 10 Naxalites, including a self-proclaimed sub-zonal commander, were killed and 28 others were arrested during different operations against Maoists in the state in 2010-2011.

At present, the jawans of the battalion are deployed in Maoist-hit Jamui, Banka, Munger, Lakhisarai and Patna districts, he added.

Patra said that the force was not only engaged in operations against the Maoists but has taken up several welfare schemes in rural areas.

Under the civil action programmes, widows of those killed in encounters are provided assistance by the force to make them self-reliant, he said, add-ing that sewing machines and equipment for making candl-es have been distributed in Ja-mui, Munger and Banka districts.

“At some places we have set up centres to impart training to girls. Hand pumps have been sunk and motors and plastic tanks have been set up in remote areas to provide drinking water facilities to the people living in remote areas of the Maoist-affected districts,” the commandant said.

In order to create interest among rural boys and girls towards games, the members of the force gave sports kits free of cost to the local sports clubs. Football, volleyball, badminton and cricket kits were also distributed among rural youths, Patra added. In some schools computers have also been set by the force.

“We often organise health check up camps and distribute medicines free of cost among the people living in remote areas,” the commandant said, adding that at some health centres, the CRPF has set up ECG machines, X-ray machines and weight measurement equipments.

Earlier, highlighting the importance of blood donation camp, deputy commandant A.K. Jha said, “It is a selfless service and we can save lives of others by donating our blood. The CRPF is not lagging behind in this mission of saving human lives by donating their precious blood.”