Mumbai, Sep 19 (IANS): With an aim to generate positive atmosphere, the people of Mulchera village in the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra have been singing the national anthem every day since August 15 this year after police and villagers took up the initiative together.

Gadchiroli police said that residents of Mulchera village in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra start their day by singing the national anthem every day. Every day the villagers, along with shopkeepers and other small traders, gather in the village at 8.45 a.m. and sing the national anthem. This meaningful initiative has been started from August 15 this year.

Speaking to IANS, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police, Ankit Goel said that this is a good initiative. The villagers feel the collective patriotism everyday by singing the national anthem. It has been started by the police and villagers on the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He stated that if its result is good, then it will be started in other Maoist-affected areas as well in collaboration with the villagers.

As part of this initiative, police officers of Gadchiroli play patriotic songs on loudspeakers for a minute in Mulchera village every day, Mulchera API Ashok Bhapkar told IANS. This informs the villagers that the national anthem is about to begin. After this, all the villagers gather in one place to sing national anthem.

According to the information, after Nalgonda village of Telangana and Bhilwadi village of Sangli district of Maharashtra, this is the third village in the country and the second village in Maharashtra, where this kind of collective national anthem is performed. Gadchiroli Police is continuously campaigning against the Maoists and the support of the villagers is most important for this.

Mulchera village, which is about 900 km from Mumbai, has a population of around 2,500. Significantly, this village has been considered a Maoist-affected village for years. Incidents of Maoist violence have been witnessed here many times. But now the national anthem has been started to erase this identity.