Way back in 1992, when the then Chief Minister Biju Patnaik carved out Malkangiri out of the undivided Koraput district, a journey by road from Jeypore (Koraput) to Malkangiri used to take three hours.
But now after 21 long years, one needs at least eight hours to cover the same distance, mere 100-km-long. So, when a Principal Secretary, who worked in KBK in his early days, decided to see the ground realities, he was shocked to see the poor condition of the road as it took him nearly eight hours to cover it.
The deplorable road condition particularly came to light recently when there was a Maoist landmine blast near Pottangi where four BSF personnel were killed in the explosion. The incident took place on the National Highway-26 connecting Malkangiri and Koraput.
The security experts were wondering how the ultras planted the landmine on the NH and no one could notice it. The answer was very simple: the NH-26 was not NH-5 Kolkata-Chennai via Odisha). The NH -26 is full of potholes, sand, bushes. And the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is hardly bothered about such a crucial road, feel peoples’ representatives.
It is altogether a different matter whether funds are sanctioned for this NH and the money is spent properly. But fact remains that the National Highways in the Maoist-hit areas in the State are crying for improvement as the horrible state of the roads suits the ultras who never want good connectivity.
The State Government claims that there is a progressive improvement in the Maoist situation in the State. “The situation has been brought under control in districts like Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Deogarh,” said DG of Police Prakash Mishra recently.
The presence of six BSF battalions in Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur has provided a security cover for the administration. While three battalions are deployed in Koraput, two are in Malkangiri and one in Nabarangpur. As the BSF has been able to guard the fortress in Malkangiri and Koraput, the Government has been able to undertake developmental activities.
It’s again to the BSF’s credit that the activities of the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh in the Narayanpatna-Bandhugaon area have been brought under control. A total of 104 Maoist-related incidents involving death of 19 security personnel, 25 civilians and 10 Maoists were reported in 2012. This figure is low compared to the other Maoist-hit states in the country. Of course, during the past four years eight BSF jawans laid down their lives without killing a single ultra.
With the BSF presence, the State must take steps to develop the area, said a former Chief Minister. However, the Maoist situation remains volatile in many pockets of at least ten adjoining districts in the south-western part of the State. It has been found that most of the violence has been reported from seven districts, Malkangiri, Koraput, Balangir, Nuapada, Rayagada, Ganjam and Baragarh. Till July 2013, 38 Maoists-related incidents were reported involving death of 10 civilians, one security personnel and four Maoists.
While the Government has been patting itself on the back in regard to the improvement of the Maoist situation, there hardly seem any developmental activities in these areas.
The Centre has emphatically instructed the State Government to “clear and capture” the areas liberated from Maoist influence. If developmental activities immediately follow security operations, the ultras would certainly fail to take local people into their fold. However, the Government is yet to initiate any developmental action plan in a decisive way to boost the morale of the people and security forces, pointed out an expert.
Take for the instance of Narayanpatna and Bandhuugaon blocks of Koraput district. The tribals of the area were attracted towards the Maoists after they failed to get their lands released from local landlords. The tribals supported the Maoists because the latter helped them release their lands. The Government on its part assured the people that it would take steps to return the land which resulted in massive surrender of the rebels in the Narayanpatna-Bandhugaon area; so much so that the Maoists had to flee from the area.
However, after the Maoists left, nothing has been done to retrieve the tribal lands from the clutches of landlords. This could be due to the fact that those illegally holding tribal lands have a nexus with politicians and have influence over the administration, pointed out a schoolteacher.
Then, there is no guarantee that the Maoists would not rear their ugly heads in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon once again in the backdrop of the Government’s lack of sincerity to address the basic issues of the tribals.
The police officers who had mediated between the tribals and the Government now face embarrassment, admitted a top cop.
Even as the Government claims that it has got control over Maoist areas, the situation is bad in Malkangiri and Koraput districts. Take the instance of the launch service in the Balimela reservoir. With the ferry service stopped for 11 long days at the Maoist diktat, the people in the 151 cutoff villages faced miseries with children suffering from fever and pregnant women unable to go to hospitals. Peoples’ representatives of the area had to rush to Bhubaneswar via Andhra Pradesh to meet the Chief Minister.
The Centre has programmes like the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS), Scheme for Assistance to Civilian victims/family of victims of terrorists, Integrated Action Plan (IAP), Road Requirement Plan, Scheme of Fortified Police Stations and Civic Action Program for the Maoist areas.
With this plethora of plans and programmes, the State Government can reap benefits, pointed out Mamata Madhi, the lone woman MlA from Malkangiri.