Narayanpet: For nearly 15 years, security forces operated from a camp in Bhatpal village in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. Today, 114 boys from remote villages live in a hostel on the same campus.

The Narayanpur district administration, led by Collector Namrata Jain, began turning vacated security camps into residential centres for tribal youth after the Bastar division was declared free of Maoist violence following March 31, 2026. Bhatpal, about 25 km from the district headquarters, was the first.

The campus opened to students on August 11, 2026, making it the first camp in the entire Bastar division to become an education and residential centre. Two boys' hostels now run side by side there. The pre-matric hostel was built for 100 students of Classes VI to X.

Until recently, this region was known mainly for conflict. Watchtowers, tall fences and armed personnel were common sights along the roads of Narayanpur and the forests of Abujhmarh. In many remote villages, schools and proper roads were out of reach. Long distances and the lack of safe places forced many tribal boys to drop out of school at an early age.

On his last visit to Bastar this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had spoken of transforming old security camps into "Jan Suvidha Kendras", or Public Service Centres, after the elimination of armed Maoists.

On September 28, 2026, the district administration repurposed the police camp at Kurushnar. Established in 2003, it was one of the oldest security installations in the district. Run by the Tribal Department, it now houses two groups of boys.

As security forces advanced and peace took hold, these camps could have been left behind as empty relics. Instead, the administration has given them a new purpose. At Bhatpal, the hostel already houses more boys than the 100 it was built for.

The shift shows how the region's priorities are changing. In an area where education was often the first casualty of conflict, the same fortified walls are being reclaimed for a very different mission, that is educating tribal children.

BI Bureau