You'd think you were on the sets of Sylvester Stallone's Rambo franchise.
Day is breaking as a bunch of C60 commandos get ready to go out on short-range patrol from the Chatgaon post. A short-range patrol is one of 20-25 km; a long range one is anything around 60 km.
C60 commandos, Maharashtra Police's elite force, has been at the forefront of the war against Left-wing extremism.
On an average patrol a commando carries up to 15 kg on his back: this includes his weapons, food, water, daily needs, first aid among other things.
Every morning depending on intelligence inputs and information received by the force, operations are planned and executed in the nearby areas.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Basavraj Shivpuje uses sand models to brief the commandos of the day's operations.
The team of around 30 commandos split into two groups; while one leaves from the front gate of the post, the second uses the rear exit. This is done to avoid giving out the exact number of commandos moving in the area.
Both teams enter the jungle from different points and meet inside, usually a kilometre in. Today's operation is based on inputs received from a local informer regarding movement of Maoists in the jungles near Udegaon village, around 10 km from the post.
Gadchiroli remains the most affected district in Maharashtra due to Maoist movement and every month there is an encounter or two in the dense forests.
Besides ambushing the troops, Maoists also use landmines and improvised explosive devices to target the jawans.
Besides humint, C60 commandos are now depending on technology. The Gadchiroli police have bought four specialised drones with 4K high-definition image resolution, which are being used during patrols.
The drones take visuals of areas beyond 500 m and can fly with minimal noise thus avoiding detection from Maoists. Speaking to India Today SDPO Shivpuje says: "Drones help check if there's any suspicious movement ahead. It is generally used in intelligence-based operations."
The other modern technology coming in handy to the commandos is GPS.
A C60 commando explains the use of GPS: "We set the GPS coordinates before starting our patrol. Inside the jungle it's very difficult to find the right direction."
Other than carrying out operations against Maoists, C60 commandos also conduct area domination exercise with tribal villages. Tribal villages are the lifeline for Maoists and without their support, Maoists cannot operate in an area.
Weaning away the tribals from the Maoists is one of the prime areas of focus for the commandos. Regular area domination exercises are conducted to strengthen communication.
Along with crossing the dense jungles, rivers and hills have to be crossed to conduct checks. Not just the difficult terrain but also the heavy backpack are big hurdles. During patrols dry ration of food has to be carried.
The food is cooked in a selected place where the area perimeter is secured and cordoned off.While some commandos cook food, some keep watch while some go fetch water.
Water is drawn from available water resources and sometimes the earth is dug up to get clean drinking water.
"We cook food near a water body. Some members of the team keep an eye on the area perimeter; they have to be on alert all the time," says Amol Dhatrak, a commando who is preparing food. It's a difficult life for the commandos, trekking for hours through forests and uneven terrain.
"Every commando carries weight up to 14 kg. Carrying heavy weights during summer is very tiring as we can only carry limited amounts of water," says Sachin Jadhav, a sub-inspector.
Commandos suffer from dehydration and stomach ailments due to drinking water from nullahs, wells and rivers. Insects also cause a lot of problems, especially during summers.
"There is a particular fly in these forests which makes it difficult to walk as it enters the body through the nose, eyes, mouth or ears so we have to cover our faces," adds Jadhav.
Malarial mosquitoes and snakes are the other concerns afflicting the jawans.
But more than anything else, it's the shadow of death that looms ominously every second of their lives. The threat of a Maoist attacks is omnipresent.
"In 2009 in Mumner village we were ambushed by Maoists; three amongst 30 of us were killed while five to six were injured," recalls Navnath Gedam.
Things were getting bad till reinforcements arrived three hours later and rescued the jawans.
Given the extreme conditions the commandos find themselves in, it's indeed commendable that the force keeps its chin up. Experience and practice help them survive in this difficult environment.