Faced with growing naxal violence in the state, Bihar asked the Centre on Saturday to give it more para-military forces and demanded that the proposed training centre for Central Reserve Paramilitary Force be started at the earliest.
After a 45-minute meeting with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters he has also demanded the setting up of a disaster management institute in the state as it faced the twin problems of drought and flood. Being close to the Himalayas, the state was also prone to earthquakes, he added.
Kumar said the number of para-military personnel in Bihar had decreased, as the central forces taken out of the state for the assembly elections in five states had not been sent back.
Stating that the state government had already allotted land for the proposed training centre for CRPF personnel, he asked the Centre to take immediate steps to complete it. The chief minister said the Home Minister assured him that the Centre would seriously consider the demands.
The law and order situation in the state also came up for discussion and Kumar apprised Patil of the steps being taken by his government to check crime. He informed the Home Minister about constitution of Special Auxiliary Police Force and recruitment in the state police.
To a question, Kumar said the law and order situation in the state had improved with the administration managing to create awe in the minds of criminals.
Maintaining that extremist violence was a different kind of problem, the chief minister said it should not be seen as a mere law and order problem. He also welcomed the appointment of R S Gavai as the new Governor of the State and expressed the hope that he would improve the dignity of the high post.
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