No Maoist resistance as Narayanpatna road link is restored

Twelve days after it was cut off by a CPI (Maoist)-backed group called Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha...

Twelve days after it was cut off by a CPI (Maoist)-backed group called Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS),a 22-km road link to Narayanpatna block in the Koraput district of Orissa was restored following a joint operation conducted by state and Central forces on Saturday.

During his recent visit to Koraput,Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had stressed the need to quickly restore the road link in order to re-establish control. Chidambaram had even raised this point with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

On Saturday,a team of commandos of the Special Operations Group of the Orissa Police and a company of the CRPF moved in with tree-cutting equipment and heavy earth movers to clear the road. A bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs accompanied them to clear the road of landmines.

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During the operation,more than 170 trees were removed from the road and two trenches were filled. No landmines were found,nor was there any resistance from the Maoists. Normal traffic has now been restored between Laxmipur and Narayanpatna and essential supplies have started moving in, a Home Ministry statement said.

The CMAS and its supporters have been involved in several violent incidents in the last six months,especially in Koraput district.

On account of this violence,many families in Narayanpatna tehsil had to shift out,while some had to be lodged in government relief camps.