Sukma, Jan. 4 -- Once echoing with gunfire and fear, Badesetti village in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district is now scripting a new chapter of peace and development. Declared the state's first Naxal-free village under the Chhattisgarh government's Ilwad Panchayat initiative, Badesetti has emerged as a symbol of the changing ground reality in Bastar and adjoining regions that were long affected by Left Wing Extremism.

The transformation is being attributed to a coordinated push by the Centre and the state, combining intensified security operations with focused development, rehabilitation, and welfare measures. Under the Ilwad Panchayat scheme, the Vishnu Deo Sai-led Chhattisgarh government has announced a special development package of Rs 1 cr...