Raipur, Jan 29 (ANI): To fight the rising insurgency activities of Maoists in India''s central hinterland, police in Chhattisgarh are being trained in guerrilla warfare.

The ill-equipped and ill-trained policemen have proved to be unsuccessful in saving vast parts of the region. Ironically these may include some of the richest areas, home to huge deposits of iron or aluminum ore.

Apparently, the Government lacks a coherent strategy to combat the menace created by Maoist activists.

In a bid to face unforeseen situations, a retired army brigadier is training policemen to act as a counter-insurgency outfit at the new Counter-Terrorism and Jungle Warfare School in Chhattisgarh.

"Here we give training for jungle warfare so that a commando becomes confident enough to counter any Naxal attacker in any difficult situation in the jungle," said retired brigadier B. K Ponwar.

The school trains police personnel from seven Maoist affected states. According to a senior police official in the Chhattisgarh State Chief Minister's security, Vivek Shukla, the training makes the policemen tough, both mentally and physically. On a physical level, their stamina has increased tremendously, and on the mental level, they have become more alert and confident after learning jungle warfare techniques and tactics.

According to sources, there were more than 20,000 armed Maoist rebels in India, backed by hundreds of thousands of supporters, operating in a "Red Corridor" stretching from Andhra Pradesh in the south to the border with Nepal.

The Naxalites formed an All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR), to create deep roots in central India and form links with powerful Maoist guerrillas in Nepal. The Naxalites managed to find support with the groups and individuals who feel stranded by India''s surging modernisation. This has led to a dramatic increase in Naxalite violence, particularly in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. The main states affected by Naxalism are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Other lesser-affected states are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. (ANI)