By Sib Kumar Das
Security personnel and panchayat bodies are facing severe Maoist threat
Maoists have started to use terror tactics to hamper the functioning of panchayat bodies in remote areas of south Orissa. Through this they want to stall the pro-poor developmental projects and subsidised Public Distribution System (PDS) in underdeveloped remote areas. For it they have started terrorising the elected members of panchayat bodies. Maoists are damaging the panchayat offices and panchayat warehouses meant for storing PDS supplies.
In Rayagada district, the vice chairman of Chandrapur block panchayat samity S.Iswar Rao, panchyat samity member of Budubali panchayat Narasi Gangaranga, female nayab sarpanch of the same panchayat K.Mutika have rendered their resignation at the Chandrapur block office. It was alleged that recently these elected representatives had received threats from leader of the Basadara Divisional Committee of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation to resign or face dire consequences.
The elected representatives are mum about the reason behind their sudden resignation. In Feb. 2009 a sarpanch and seven ward members of Rasakola panchayat of Bisamkatak block in Rayagada district had resigned following naxal threats. Along with it there were reports of resignations of some Special Police Officers (SPO) in same Chandrapur block. It may be noted that SPOs and village guards play a major role in maintenance of security in remote rural areas.
The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had directed the Rayagada district Collector Nitin Bhanudas Jawale to investigate and report about these resignations. Speaking to The Hindu the Rayagada district collector confirmed the resignation of three elected members of local bodies. “But in their resignation letters they have either cited their personal or health problems or their agony against functioning of the local Block Development Officer”, he said. Regarding the resignation of SPOs he said no resignation of any SPO had reached any police station or district police headquarter. But at the grass root level security personnel and panchayat bodies are facing severe Maoist threat. Maoists blew up buildings of a panchayat offices and warehouses attached to them at Kangurkonda, Telarai and Bodigata villages in Malkangiri district in May.
In May 6 night Maoists had damaged the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) office at remote Kudumuluguma under Orkel police station in Malkangiri district. In February eleven elected members of panchayats of cut off areas of Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri district had resigned. According to intelligence sources, the threat of Maoists was a major cause behind their resignation. The Maoists claim they are damaging panchayat buildings so that they may not be used as camps by security forces during anti-Maoist operations. But as per police and administrative officials by keeping the elected panchayat bodies under the shroud of their terror and damaging the PDS storage units they want to keep people living in remote areas away from the pro-poor developmental programmes like MGNREGS. It is alleged to be part of their strategy to strengthen their base and ant-government propaganda in remote areas. Added to it they have also started to create terror in the minds of grass root level policemen. They shot dead a police constable at a crowded village market at Padia under Kalimela police station in Malkangiri on May 16. On May 11 night Maoists murdered two village guards at Katama village in Gajapati district.
Source: The Hindu
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