MALKANGIRI: As Operation Green Hunt gets going with more forces fanning out in the State, school children have been caught in the crossfire.
Students in most of these strategic areas have to move out of their schools for the sake of the security forces who have turned the school buildings into fortified camps.
It is not just schools, panchayat offices and other government buildings too house the security forces battling the Maoists in several districts, including Malkangiri.
These buildings are the preferred choices of the security forces __ it acts as a shield and a buffer in the event of an organised attack by the Maoists. And this is the reason why Maoists are continuously targeting these buildings.
But the ultimate losers are the students who have to make way for the security forces by leaving their schools. In Malkangiri district, with the arrival of BSF jawans, the problem has become acute. Across the region, in Balimela, Tunnel camp, Kudmulgumma, MV-72 and MV-88, students and officials have been suffering silently.
In MV-72 and MV-88, many students have stopped attending classes because their UGME schools are now occupied by BSF jawans.
Finding no other option, the school authorities are now conducting classes for them in MV-74 Upper Primary School and MV-88 Government High School. The school hours have also been rescheduled. Students of both the UGME schools now go to MV-74 Upper Primary School and MV-88 Government High School in the morning. Many students, who come from interior areas, find it difficult to reach school at 6.30 am.