Orissa airlifts food for forces in Maoist zone

The state government on Tuesday airlifted food and other essential commodities for police who are confined to Nayapatnam owing to closure of roads by Maoists.

Since June 15, the roads to Narayanpatna are closed as the government has failed to remove trees felled by Maoists to block them. On June 17, nine security personnel and a driver were killed when the rebels blew off their jeep with a landmine near Narayanpatna.

Sources said a helicopter made two sorties from Koraput to Narayanpatna carrying rice, dal, sugar, kerosene and dry food. At the moment, there are 100 CRPF and 60 OSAP personnel stationed at Narayanpatna along with local policemen. They have gone out after the Maoists destroyed telecommunication towers in the area last week.

Authorities fear that the Maoists may loot weapons taking advantage of the situation, the sources said. Additional forces have also been airlifted to Narayanpatna, they added.

The use of choppers comes in the wake of attacks on a guest house and checkgate in the Sunabeda forest range in neighbouring Nuapada district on Monday night. About 20 extremists came from Chhatisgarh and burnt all official papers and furniture at the guest house. They took away about Rs 60,000, a walkie-talkie and mobile phones from the staff. They did not harm anyone, police said.

The Maoist violence also continued in Kandhamal district where four persons were kidnapped on Sunday night. The victims included the husband of the interior Sonepur panchayat sarpanch, a local panchayat member and a ward member.

Life was paralyzed in Malkangiri and parts of southern Orissa on the second day of the two-day bandh call given by the extremists. Public vehicles remained off the road and government officials did not attend work fearing Maoist attacks. Government sources said Union home minister P Chidambaram is likely to visit Bhubaneswar on Thursday to take stock of the situation. He is also scheduled to visit Koraput, they added.

District collector (Koraput) Bichitrananda Das said the road blockade will be cleared over the next few days. "The situation is certainly serious. We have reports that the extremists have laid mines at several places. No one is willing to enter the area during the bandh. It is difficult to get labourers at this moment," he added.

The sources said Narayanpatna had been out of bounds because police are reluctant to clear the roads. "Road clearance is the job of the district administration. Police can provide a security cover," a senior police official said. "The genesis of the trouble in Narayanpatna and other areas stemmed from the land problems and lack of development in the area. We are not responsible for poverty of the people, but we are getting killed," the official added.

Maoists target Orissa after Lalgarh

First it was Lalgarh in West Midnapore district of West Bengal targeted by Maoists and now Orissa''s Narayanpatna region. Maoists new target is the non-tribal land of Orrisa.

After laying siege over Lalgarh in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, Maoists have now targeted Orissa's Narayanpatna region.

According to the reports, Hundreds of Maoists activists have forcibly occupied the non-tribal land in Orrisa’s Narayanpatna causing bizarre in the area.

Activists of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh, a tribal group of Maoists have forcibly grabbed the lands. All the roads are blocked by Maoists activists to bar the entry of police in the area.

Maoists activities are becoming a major problem in the country and now government is aiming to take some tough steps towards it.

ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath starts

The fun time of the deities of Puri Jagannath temple started as a sea of humanity turned up to watch the Lord’s nine-day sojourn, popularly dubbed as Rath Yatra on Wednesday.

The Grand Road facing the 12th century shrine was packed like sardines with the curious devotees braving the scorching sun waited with bated breaths for glimpse of the deities on their respective chariots. Crowd jostled for space when the triad Hindu deities—Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra—were escorted out of the sanctum sanctorum in a boisterous procession called pahandi.

The pahandi rituals of the deities were solemnized in the scheduled time. By 10.30 am, the sibling deities boarded their respective chariots. Puri Sankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati had the darshan of the deities on chariots.

Puri scion Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb later performed the traditional sweeping rite of the chariot decks with golden broomstick, a ritual known as chheran pahanra. Soon after the King’s business got over on the chariots, the giant wooden cars marched towards the Gundicha temple where the deities would spend nearly a week. Devotees and cops pulled the chariots with gung-ho spirit. It was a treat to watch the chariots festooned with flowers, appliqué and mural paintings. Till reports last reached, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra reached Gundicha temple at around 4.45pm. And chariots of Subhadra and Jagannath were a stone's throw from the destination.

Unlike the previous years, all the rituals of the deities, including the pulling of chariots were solemnized much before the schedule time. “It was possible thanks to the cooperation of shrine sevayats. They always play a major role in the timely completion of rituals,” a temple official said.

The temple town was fortified in the wake of possible subversive attacks by radicals. “But no untoward incident was reported till evening,” a senior police official said.

More than 55 platoons of police force were garrisoned through out the city to control law and order during the mega event. Massive security arrangement was made for crowd and traffic control as well. “Keeping last year’s stampede in mind, we are cautious to avoid the recurrence of the mishap,” the cop said.

Governor MC Bhandare, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, revenue minister Prafulla Ghadei among a host of other ministers visited Puri to watch Rath Yatra.

Maoist threatens to destroy Balimela Power House in Orissa

The state’s premier Power Generating Industry-Balimela Power House will be blasted if the electricity is not supplied to all the remote villages,threatned the C.P.I(Maoist).In hundreds of posters found at several places in the district,the Maoist organization has alleged that though power is generating from Balimela power house situated in Malkangiri district,but the many remote and inaccessible villages have yet been deprived of electricity facility.After the Naxal threat,an atmosphere of fear has prevailed in the Balimela Town and the locals as well as the project employees have become frightened.

Defense equipment manufacturing unit to be set up in Orissa

A defense equipment manufacturing unit would come up in Orissa very soon. The proposed project has been dubbed as Defence Offset Project.An expert team headed by state-owned IDCOL would soon make a stock-taking visit to the defence factories existing in Orissa and West Bengal. IDCOL director M N Ray said that the skilled entrepreneurs, factories or private sectors would be identified through advertisements who can produce equipment used in defence department.
The list would be prepared soon and sent to the ministry of defence, he added. As per the guidelines of the Centre, the foreign companies, who sell war equipment worth more than Rs 300 crore to India would invest 30-50 percent amount in the country for establishment of defence equipment factories.
Since India procures defence equipment worth nearly 3 billion dollar from foreign exporters, there is a need to set up a defence equipment factory in the country and so Orissa has a fare chance. The proposed project can generate good employment in the state also. Our move is in a nascent stage. No detail analysis has been made on it. But the project is a profitable one, Ray said.

Centre-Orissa relation dips amidst allegations of neglect

The relation between the UPA government and Orissa has gone downhill with the Naveen Patnaik administration accusing the Centre of adopting a step-motherly attitude towards the state.

Be it flood assistance or paddy procurement by FCI and expansion of railway network, the ruling BJD alleged negligence by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. The Biju Janata Dal, which won 103 seats in the 147-member Assembly in Orissa and 14 of the s tate's 21 Lok Sabha seats, has issued a direction to its MPs to raise the issue of neglect in both houses of Parliament.

“We have been asked to raise issues like revision of coal/mineral royalty and negligence in railway expansion,” BJD's parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha Mr Arjun Sethi said. This time BJD's voice would be louder in Delhi as it has 14 MPs in Lok Sab ha, he said.

Similar was the view of Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, BJD leader in Rajya Sabha. “We will be more critical as the Centre continues to neglect Orissa,” he said. Congress, on the other hand, accused BJD of attacking the Centre to hide its failures.

“Instead of blaming the Centre for everything, Orissa government should try to work in coordination with us,” leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Mr Bhupinder Singh said.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Naxalites havoc continues in Orissa

he Terror of naxals has been continued Since 14th June. After a long days silent Naxals again created havoc in Sambalpur district. In a firce gun battle with police personales in GaraKhaman Forest near kisinda, a police subinspector Narashingha Prasad Mahankuda killed and three others severely injuried. Still now the gun battle has been continued as the combing operation is going on. On the other side In Malkangiri and Koraput District Naxals and pro naxal Organisation Chasi Mulia Adivasi sangha continued their operation for the thrid day. Today around 300 Armed Tribals Of Narayanapur forcibly occupied more than 500 acres of cultivable land of general people. On the other side Naxals cutdown hundred of trees and jamed the chitrakonda and malkangiri road. It Is reported that some armed naxals ransacked 5 country liquor shops near chitraknoda. In an Bizarre incident naxals killed a Quack named Balaram Soren in Baripada,Near Chhatishgarh-Orissa Border On14th june night. Who was returned from weekly hata at DakaDiha