The first day of the week-long celebration of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of Maoists passed off peacefully on Monday, giving much relief to the police who had beefed up security in the Maoist infested areas in Malkangiri district and along Andhra-Odisha border.
Despite the security arrangements, tension ran high in Chitrakonda, Balimela, Khairput, Govindpalli, Podia, MV 79 and Korukonda. State-run OSRTC buses from Jeypore to Bhubaneswar via Rayagada diverted their routes via Andhra Pradesh. The OSRTC has also suspended its bus services from Malkangiri to Jeypore as a precautionary measure since Sunday night.
While a few remote places wore a deserted look, life in many parts including the district headquarters town of Malkangiri and other places was normal. Villages on both sides of the Andhra-Odisha border remained cut off from the mainstream as many vehicles baring the private buses went off the road with the Maoists putting up red banners and posters.
Meanwhile, the police suspect violent attacks by Maoists during the PLGA Week which is observed to pay tributes to the slain Maoist leaders.
“The Maoists are desperate to make their presence felt. We have inputs that they would resort to major attacks during the week. Though their number is dwindling in the region, we can not be complacent,” said a senior police official.
Besides, paramilitary forces like BSF, Special Operation Group commandos and District Voluntary Forces have been put on high alert at all the sensitive places in the district to foil the ill designs of the ultras during the week.
Police are conducting vehicle checks in sensitive areas while the paramilitary forces have intensified combing operation to restrict the Maoist movement to their hideouts.