In most parts of India, a mobile tower may be omnipresent, but in Bijapur, 6,500 square kilometers in Chhattisgarh, one of the worst-hit by leftist extremism, is a means to bring villagers living under the shadow of wax.
In the last 18 months, as the operation against the Maoists has raised the pace, the local administration has also launched a mission to increase mobile connectivity, installing several mobile towers twice compared to the last two years.
The Bastar region consists of seven districts – Bastar, Kondagan, Kankar, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma. Officials say that a look at the anti-Maoist operations shows that Bijapur is the worst hit, which challenges development activities, officials say. According to officials, Maoists destroy mobile towers as they believe that they will help police informers to warn the security forces in remote villages.
Since 2022, MAOists have set eight mobile towers on fire in the district, including six in 2024-2025. However, the pushback by forces since 2024 has helped the administration to install 48 mobile towers between January 2024 and June 2025, providing coverage to 110 villages in Bijapur. In comparison, 24 towers were established in 2022 and 2023.
One of the mobile towers installed last month was in the Kutro region, where eight security personnel and a civil driver were killed in an IED explosion in January.
“By the middle of 2025, significant progress has been made in increasing mobile connectivity in Bijapur, especially in its remote and earlier extrem-affected areas. Bijapur has about 45% of its 45% of its villages covered by mobile networks, about 45% of their villages, about many of which are currently involved in efforts to deploy government towers operating.”
Nevertheless, about 400 villages in Bijapur district experience limited networks. Expanding the challenges, Bijapur SP Jitendra Kumar Yadav said, “We have set up 20 camps in the last two years. It is difficult to install mobile towers; In the last two years, six towers have been vandalized. We are able to install towers close to the camps. A security vacuum, it is always difficult.”
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“The ongoing initiative is expected to continue these gaps to bridge, bringing the services and connectivity required for all corners of the district. Mobile towers are challenging due to hard terrain, limited connectivity and frequent security threats. Still, every mobile towers we bring a village close to the mainstream – digital access, financial inclusion, and emergency services.”
Naxal Attack (T) Chhattisgarh Naxal History (T) Indian Express
