Odisha Seeks Dedicated Chopper, Mobile Towers To Deal With Maoist Menace

New Delhi: The Odisha government on Friday sought a dedicated helicopter for security forces tackling Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in the state.

During the national-level LWE review meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, state Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha also urged the Centre to fast track installation of mobile towers under different mobile connectivity schemes. “A dedicated helicopter is critical for movement of troops, maintenance of forward posts and to respond to exigencies in the context of LWE conflict,” he added.

Arukha also spoke about the dwindling influence of CPI (Maoist), who are now restricted to pockets of ten districts, in the state. “Intensity of violence has declined and mass support base and recruitment of local cadres to the outfit have also seen a downward spiral,” he said.

He attributed this to Naveen Patnaik-led government’s pro-active developmental initiatives and people centric policies. “Swabhiman Anchal of Malkangiri district, which was a bastion of Maoists for decades, has been brought under complete control and dominance of security forces. The area has integrated with the socio-economic-political mainstream through remarkable progress in every sphere of development. The construction of Gurupriya Bridge and implementation of ‘SETU’ (Social Economic Transformation and Upliftment) scheme have worked wonders in bringing visible transformation in the lives and livelihood of the people of this area. More than 7,000 smartphones have been distributed among students of the area to facilitate study. For better healthcare, ambulance fleet and para medics have been expanded and boat ambulance and water ambulance have been introduced,” he told the meeting.

The finance minister further informed that medicines are being distributed through drone in some pockets of Kalahandi district. “Under Mukhyamantri Bayu Yojana, super specialists are deputed to different areas for providing improved healthcare to the people. Also, initiatives for skill development and women empowerment have paid rich dividends. Women are provided with soft loans to set up enterprises. These steps have significantly weakened the support towards CPI (Maoist) outfit,” he added.

Expressing satisfaction with measures taken by Odisha government to curb Maoist menace, Amit Shah assured that all assistance to the state to root out LWE from the country in the coming year.

Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal also attended the meeting.