A few days after Director General of Police (DGP) Prakash Mishra warned Maoists of stern action, Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra and the DGP on Friday visited Malkangiri to finalise mechanism to build a bridge over the Gurupriya river for effective anti-Maoist operations.
“The construction of the bridge is important for undertaking effective anti-insurgency operations in the State and efforts are on to start the construction work soon,” said the Chief Secretary after chairing a meeting with senior police and district administration officials.
Mohapatra also assured steps to provide security to the contractors who take the tender for the bridge.The 900-meter bridge over the Gurupriya river, near Balimela reservoir, has been hanging fire for over seven years as neither any contractor, nor any construction firm is willing to undertake the job amidst the lurking Maoist fear. The Chief Secretary and the DGP also visited a BSF camp near Badapada. “In recent past, we have successfully handled many Maoist operations and we hope to continue it in tackling the ultras here,” said DGP Mishra.