Tourist spot comes under Naxal radar

Tourist destinations have also come under the scanner of Naxalites as rebels detonated a powerful blast at one of the enchanting sites near Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh on Monday morning in a move aimed to unleash a reign of terror among visitors.

No casualty was however reported in the blast that blew up an under-construction police outpost in famous tourist destination of Chitrakoot, about 350 km from here in Naxal-infested Bastar region.

Indrawati River that falls from a height of about 29 metres (about 100 feet) makes a spectacular view of waterfall.

Chitrakoot falls, which has found place in world tourist map, is also called The Niagara Falls of India. The number of tourists visiting the site was increasing as the rebels had not shown their presence in the area through they have considerable sway in the other parts of the region.

As a precautionary measure and the possible threat from the rebels, the state government was constructing a police outpost in Chitrakoot.

The Naxalites struck today morning at about 5 am and detonated powerful explosives to damage the under construction buildings.

"Armed Naxalites, mostly women insurgents, blew up an under-construction police outpost through improved explosive devices and severely damaged two rooms", Bastar Inspector General of Police T J Longkumer said.

This is the first Naxal attack in Chitrakoot. According to tourism board officials, the number of tourists present in the site was nil as it was off season time. The waterfall in Chitrakoot forms horse-shoe shape and can be best seen during and after the monsoon, between July and October.