CM Mamata Banerjee on 2-day visit to Junglemahal amid Maoist resurgence threat

Although the Junglemahal area is scattered over three districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, the chief minister will restrict her activities to the West Midnapore district only.

Kolkata: In the backdrop of frequent recovery of Maoist posters and intelligence alerts about the resurgence of the Left-wing extremist (LWE) activities in pockets of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be in Junglemahal for two days from Tuesday.

Although the Junglemahal area is scattered over three districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, this time the chief minister will restrict her activities in West Midnapore district only. In the coming days, the chief minister will make similar visits to Purulia and Bankura as well, confirmed sources from the state secretariat of Nabanna.

Sources said the chief minister will first reach the Circuit House in Midnapore town. On the same day, around 3 pm she will chair an administrative review meeting, which will be attended by district magistrates and district police superintendents and other senior bureaucrats and police officers from the district.

The next day, she will address a rally of the party workers and leaders in the district at the Midnapore College Grounds.

A member of the state cabinet, who did not wish to be named, told IANS that the chief minister is concerned about the reports of a possible resurgence of the Maoist activities in the state.

"She has got reports that a section of the people in the three districts scattered over the Junglemahal area are dissatisfied with the slow progress of the developmental projects. Complaints about rampant corruption have gripped a section of the political and administrative sections in the state. Even there are reports that the BJP is taking that advantage and trying to fuel the grievances of the people on this count. So, the chief minister will review the situation at the administrative review meeting and suggest corrective measures," the member of the state cabinet said.

On April 26, at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eastern Zonal Council that took place at the West Bengal state secretariat of Nabanna, the Union home ministry officials cautioned about the resurgence of Maoist activities in the four eastern Indian states of the West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar.

During the two-day West Midnapore visit, the chief minister is also expected to review the deployment of the Central Armed Forces there.