Ahead of Amit Shah’s Bastar visit, CM reviews preparations for central zonal council meet

Raipur: Days before Union home minister Amit Shah is scheduled to arrive in Bastar for the 26th Central Zonal Council meeting, chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday chaired a high-level review meeting to assess preparations for the high-profile event being seen as a major symbolic moment for the once Maoist-hit region.The meeting, to be held in Bastar on May 19 under Shah’s chairmanship, will bring together the chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand along with senior officials from the participating states and the Centre.Shah is expected to arrive in Raipur on the evening of May 17, stay overnight and attend a series of events and meetings in Raipur and Jagdalpur on May 18. On May 19, he would chair the central zonal council meeting and hold a press briefing before departure to Delhi.At the review meeting held at Mahanadi Bhawan, officials presented agenda points proposed by the Chhattisgarh govt and briefed the chief minister on logistics, coordination, accommodation and security arrangements.Sai directed officials to ensure there were no lapses in preparations and said all arrangements should be made with “seriousness and coordination”.The meeting assumes significance as it is being held in Bastar, a region long identified with Left Wing Extremism, at a time when the state govt is aggressively pitching a “post-Naxal” development narrative for the tribal belt.The Central Zonal Council is among the country’s regional councils formed to promote inter-state cooperation and coordination on governance and development-related matters.