Ranchi, May 12: Chief minister Raghubar Das is set to flag off a motorcycle rally in Lohardaga on the occasion of the district's 34th anniversary on May 17 to promote tourism in rebel-hit Peshrar.
Das will also inaugurate the volleyball super league matches to strengthen police-public rapport, besides distributing assets among the poor and laying foundation stones of several new schemes in the Maoist hotbed.
Lohardaga deputy commissioner Binod Kumar said the chief minister would felicitate the principals of schools that had been successful in bringing down the dropout rate to zero, the wardens of Kasturba Vidyalayas for introducing smart classes and panchayat mukhiyas for facilitating cashless transactions.
The benefits of welfare schemes will be extended to people at a development-cum-welfare fair.
"A cultural programme will be organised in the evening. Jharkhand celebrity Mukund Nayak and Bollywood singers Anup Jalota and Alka Yagnik have agreed to entertain the audience. Several other reputed artists will participate as well," Kumar said.
After cornering the rebel outfits to a considerable extent and compelling Maoist gunlords such as Nakul Yadav and his close aides to surrender, police are now struggling to promote tourism in Peshrar blessed with picturesque waterfalls and cascades.
Lohardaga SP Kartik S had rediscovered scenic spots such as the Kekrang waterfall, Lawapani cascade and Chulhapani during his anti-Naxalite operations and has set up police pickets at strategic locations to ensure the safety of visitors.
To instil a sense of security among people, Kartik had arranged day-long picnics at the beautiful locales for the families of police personnel and even took the chief justice of the Manipur high court, R.R. Prasad, on a sightseeing trip to the Kekrang waterfall.
He had also made a detailed presentation of his plan to tap into the tourism potential of the district before chief secretary Rajbala Verma during her Peshrar tour on February 4. She in turn had directed tourism secretary Rahul Sharma to initiate prompt action.
"Monsoon Peshrar is our theme as the water bodies don their best look during the rainy season. We have also proposed a chariot ride between Jara Amba and Jawakhand, where a rivulet flows parallel to the road. The tourism secretary during his Peshrar tour a few weeks ago had directed forest department officials to set up a guest house and discussed the modalities to make the area more attractive. We will also launch our Facebook page on that day," the SP said.
To discourage youths from extending support to the rebels, police have already launched the second season of bandook chhodo, volleyball khelo campaign, which has helped them to extend their intelligence network. Large quantities of arms and ammunition were recovered within a few hours after the thana level matches began in Peshrar on May 5.
