BHUBANESWAR: WITH the CPI (Maoist) leaving a trail of violence and threatening the poll process, districts under the shadow of Naxalism have sought clustering of polling booths to manage the election process with ease.
The Kalahandi administration has urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to merge 96 polling booths in the regions affected by Naxal menace. “A request has been made before SEC to merge 96 polling booths in Naxal affected areas of the district to 24 to ensure smooth passage of the elections. We are hopeful, the panel will consider our request,” said a senior official of Kalahandi.
Similarly, the Kandhamal administration has also sought 94 booths to be clustered into about 20-odd booths so that management of the election process is smooth.
Both Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts reported IED blasts triggered by Maoists claiming two lives. In Kalahandi, Maoist posters have kept surfacing despite security. At least three pamphlets and one handwritten note of Naxals threatening locals to boycott panchayat polls surfaced in Kalahandi’s Laxmipur village on Saturday.
Sources in Malkangiri said, the administration has also requested the SEC to cluster 80 booths in the sensitive regions to 20. Most of these booths are in Left Wing Extremism affected areas. Others are very close to Andhra Pradesh and have reported absence of road communication.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed across the LWE-hit districts. “The bomb detection and disposal squad was sent to the spot as per the standard operating procedure. Locals were asked not to stroll near the posters and traffic was stopped in the area till about 12 pm,” said Kalahandi SP Saravana Vivek M. During the combing operation, the security personnel did not recover any improvised explosive device and the posters were removed from the spot.
On February 5, the red ultras had put up posters threatening villagers of Madanpur Rampur block in Kalahandi to boycott elections and planted landmines which claimed the life of a local journalist.
Initial investigation suggests the Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division to be behind the recent incidents of planting IEDs. The locals have expressed apprehension as two civilians have lost their lives in Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts in Naxal violence ahead of panchayat polls.