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After 25 years, banking services restored in remote areas of Bastar conflict zone
The Morning Standard
|May 19, 2025
JAGARGUNDA, a known Maoist hotbed in strife-torn Sukma district of south Bastar, sees a ray of hope as banking services were restored at the remote tribal belt after 25 long years.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday virtually inaugurated a branch of Indian Overseas Bank in Jagargunda that will extend benefits to nearly 14,000 people, mostly from rural tribal communities, inhabiting 12 nearby villages.
The new branch marks a major step towards financial inclusion of the remote forested areas, enabling government welfare programmes and savings and credit facilities to reach one of the state's most sensitive regions, supporting much-needed economic growth.
This story is from the May 19, 2025 edition of The Morning Standard.
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