Odisha To Demand More Mobile Towers, Banking Facilities In LWE Dists

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will seek setting up of more mobile towers and extension of banking facilities in the Left-wing extremism (LWE) districts.

This was decided at a high-level LWE review meeting at the Lok Seva Bhawan here on Thursday.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy said Maoists activities in Odisha has substantially come down. Of 15 districts, they are now active in five districts.

Stating that there has been development in the cut-off areas of Malkangiri district after the completion of the Gurupriya bridge, Tripathy said the state government will introduce the Gururpriya model in the remaining districts of South Odisha.

He further said that construction of roads in the remote areas of Malkangiri districts will be replicated in Kalahandi, Rayagada and Kandhamal.

The Chief Secretary also said that the state government will urge the Centre to take necessary steps for the installation of more mobile towers and extension of banking services in the LWE districts of the state.

The LWE meeting was held ahead of the meeting of the chief ministers of 10 LWE affected states convened by the Union Home minister Amit Shah to review the status of the issues related to the security and development in these states at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on August 26.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the Chief Secretary will attend the meeting.