BHUBANESWAR: With the increase in Maoist activities in Chhattisgarh bordering several Western Orissa districts and Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday demanded that four more districts should be included in the security related expenditure (SRE) of the Centre. Naveen attended the inter-state coordination meeting on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) convened by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in Delhi. The four districts proposed for inclusion in SRE are Nuapada, Bargarh, Balangir and Kalahandi. The Centre had included 15 districts of the State. Naveen also wanted officers from the para-military forces to be sent on deputation to Orissa to work with police on Maoist operations. The Centre should make provision for a dedicated helicopter for Orissa to be used by the police. The Chief Minister underscored the need for continuously improving coordination among all states affected by Left Wing Extremism. He requested Chidambaram to substantially increase financial assistance for improving security-related infrastructure for the state police forces. Besides, Naveen demanded that two more Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) battalions should be deployed in Orissa to boost efforts to contain and prevent LWE violence. Maoist violence in the State has increased during the last two weeks after a lull of some months following the signing of 14-point agreement between the State Government and Maoist selected negotiators during the Malkangiri collector abduction crisis. While there have been several incidents of violent attacks by the Maoists on police parties in Chhattisgarh during the last several weeks, on Orissa side also there have been several incidents pointing to the fact that Maoists are regrouping. The latest incident in Orissa was in Malkangiri district where one person was killed for allegedly being a police informer. Both the State Government and the mediators have blamed each other for breaching the agreement.
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