After unrest over the killing of a Maoist by villagers and subsequent confrontation between pro-development groups and Red rebel sympathisers, now fresh tension has gripped the Swabhiman Anchal of Malkangiri district in the form of a poster war between the ultras and local residents.
As per reports, a number of posters put up by the Maoists’ Andhra Odisha Border Zonal Committee warning the locals to desist from going against them have been found in many places of the region.
The Maoists have threatened the people of Jodamba and Janturai of dire consequences if they don’t stop cooperating with police and security forces and pass on information about them.
However, unperturbed by the threats, the Malkangiri District Tribal Development Council has urged the locals not bow down to the diktat of the Maoists and have also started issuing posters against the ultras in the area.
With the conflict now leading to a poster war between both groups, the villagers are caught in a difficult situation.
While the threatening letters from the Maoists found in many places including the boats operating between the cutoff area and Chitrakonda have scared the locals, on the other hand a call from the Tribal Development Council not to yield to the oppression by Maoists has provided them with a slight glimmer of hope.
It may be noted that for the first time after the inauguration of the Gurupriya Bridge in 2018 which has brought development in the cutoff tribal dominated region, Chitrakonda has been witnessing continuous unrest due to conflicts between Maoists and local people for last few months.
Recently, some villagers killed a Maoist and critically injured another at Janturai which sparked a retaliatory torching of houses by the ultras in the region. Following the incident, more than 1,000 security personnel were deployed in the area to foil Maoist designs for creating further unrest in the area.