Kolkata: West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan
on Tuesday expressed concern over the security environment in the
state which witnessed violence by Left wing extremists in the
western part and separatist movement in the north besides
increased inter-party clashes.
"The security environment in West Bengal has become more
difficult during the past year. The state witnessed violence
by the Left wing extremists in the Western part," Narayanan
said in his address on the opening day of the budget session
of the assembly.
He also mentioned Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's agitation for
a separate Gorkhaland besides the demand for Kamtapur or
greater Cooch behar in the northern part of the state.
The Governor said 28 police stations in West Midnapur,
Purulia and Bankura were affected by the left wing extremism.
The spread of left wing extremism in these areas was due to
their location close to the areas of Jharkhand and Orissa
as well as the dense forest cover, he said.
He said the state police accompanied by CRPF and BSF had
entered Lalgarh in June last year and taken charge over a
large area earlier controlled by the extremists.
The joint forces have dominated the area, restored the
authority of police stations and arrested over 450 people
including members of arms squads and seized arms, Narayanan
said.
Narayanan said the extremists were active in the last
three years attacking police stations, snatching arms,
exploding landmines, extorting money and looting banks. They
had also killed large number of policemen and civilians this
year, he said.
He described the last months' Maoist attack on EFR camp
in Shilda in which 24 personnel were killed as an
"unfortunate" incident and said, "It has also increased our
resolve to fight the extremists".
He said the state government has created the new police
district of Jhargram and has posted senior officers to
supervise operations.
On GJM's agitation for Gorkhaland, the governor said the
state government has not accepted the demand for a separate
state but has agreed to enhance the powers of the Darjeeling
Gorkha Hill Council or any other body that could replace the
council.
In view of the sensitive nature of the issues involved
and strategic importance of the area, the state government
favoured a political solution and has taken initiative for
tripartite talks, Narayanan said.
He said meeting the security challenge would require
filling up existing vacancies in the police force, improving
police-population ratio, acquiring more sophisticated
equipment and better training among other things. "The
challenge would be to find resources for all this," he said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 20:49