Shishir Roy ChowdhuryJagdalpur, Feb. 9 -- Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asserted that Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh would be brought to an end by March 31, even as he announced a Rs 3,600 crore irrigation project aimed at transforming the region's agrarian economy at a function here on Monday.
Addressing the closing ceremony of Bastar Pandum 2026 at Jagdalpur's historic Lalbagh Ground, Shah said Bastar's identity "lay in its culture, not conflict".
"Bastar cannot be defined by gunpowder. Its true identity is this festival, an expression of gratitude to the land and nature," he said, stressing that the security of tribal communities and the preservation of their traditions were a national responsibility.
The irrigation project on th...