Normal life was affected in certain areas of Malkangiri district on Saturday due to a 12-hour bandh called by Maoists in the Dandakaranya area.
The bandh call was given in support of various demands by the Maoists’ Darabha division leader Vinod Kasav in Dandakaranya, which is spread over the three adjoining States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
However, the impact of the bandh was felt only in eight bordering blocks, police said. Though there was no impact of the bandh in this district headquarters town, normal life was hit in Mathili and Padia blocks which form part of the Dandakaranya area, police said. Vehicles remained off roads and schools and Government offices and shops were closed. As a precautionary measure, the Government had cancelled plying of Government buses from various places to Malkangiri.
Besides, movement of traffic to adjoining Chhattisgarh and AP was also affected due to digging of a road by the Maoists in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police added. The Dandakaranya area comprises Jagadalpur, Bastar, Sukma and Dantewada of Chhattisgarh, Visakhapatnam, Khamam and Konta of Andhra Pradesh and Malkangiri, Koraput and some parts of Nabarangpur district in Odisha.