Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government has appointed 11 youths of Maoist violence-hit families of Dantewada district as teachers.

This is the first time that the state government has made such appointments, relaxing government rules on humanitarian grounds.

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The youths, who have cleared Class-12, comprise seven from the Scheduled Tribe, one each from the Scheduled Castes and general category and two from Other Backward Classes.

They have been appointed as teachers at relief camps as well as in schools in Maoist-affected pockets. "The move is in accordance with the wishes of Chief Minister Raman Singh," a government statement said on Thursday.

The youth belong to the remote thick forested areas of Jagargunda where the government has set up a relief camp for Maoist violence-hit families.

The government has offloaded rice and food items for about 1,000 camp settlers through helicopter as Leftist insurgents have blasted the road using land mines.

The youths, posted at government schools in the interiors of Dantewada, will hold classes for children staying in the Jagargunda village relief camp, some 500 km south of here.

About 50,000 people, mostly tribals, have been uprooted from their native forested villages since the civil militiary movement - Salwa Judum - began in June 2005 against the insurgents.

The movement has direct backing of the state government that has set up 23 relief camps in Dantewada and Bijapur districts to offer shelter to the uprooted villagers. It has deployed police and paramilitary CRPF troopers to guard them against Maoist attacks. IANS