Bhubaneswar: With 17 of its 30 districts hit
by left wing extremism, Orissa needs at least three more
battalions of central para-military force to combat the
menace, official sources said.
"Though five additional battalions (about 3,000
personnel) of Border Security Force have arrived in the state
for joint anti-Maoist operation, we require three more
battalions of central force," Home Secretary A P Padhi told
agency.
While all the 3,000 BSF personnel already sent to the
state would be deployed in worst-hit Koraput and Malkangiri
districts, additional force is required to undertake joint
operation in 15 other districts spread over northern and
western regions, he said.
The state now has nine battalions of central
para-military force - 5 BSF and 4 CRPF.
Besides the central para-military force, the state's
elite anti-naxalite force - special operation group (SOG) -
would also undertake anti-naxalite operations in all the 17
affected districts.
"CRPF personnel, earlier deployed in Koraput and
Malkangiri, have been shifted to other areas. The BSF and
Orissa police will launch joint operation in the southern
districts," Padhi said.
The operation by BSF jawans would continue in southern
districts till the red rebels are wiped out from the area, a
senior home department official said on condition of
anonymity.
The central paramilitary force are likely to stay in
the state till 2013, he said.
Asked about the proposed anti-Maoist joint special
operation, Padhi said combing operation was an ongoing
process.
"The difference between the earlier operation and the
proposed one is that now BSF will be enaged in exercise in
Koraput and Malkangiri instead of CRPF jawans," he said.
While districts like Koraput, Malkangiri, Nawrangpur,
Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam along with Kandhamal in south
Orissa have witnessed Maoist violence, the ultras are also
active in western districts of Sambalpur, Deogarh, Kalahandi
and Nuapada.
Maoists are also active in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and
Sundargarh districts while they often indulge in violence in
Dhenkanal district in central Orissa and in the coastal
district of Jajpur.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, April 03, 2010, 20:18