CM announces package to calm Kandhamal strife

With the Kue Samaj coordination committee on Sunday making a firm appeal to the tribals to refrain from violent activities, normalcy is likely to return to the riot hit Kandhamal even as chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced a special development package in a bid to strike at the root of the ethnic strife in the district and assuage the feeling of its tribal population.

Kandhamal has witnessed a month long and widespread communal violence in the aftermath of killing of senior VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

"We do not believe in violence and I appeal to my fellow people not to indulge in violent activities", said Lambodar Kanhar, the president of the committee at a meeting of the tribal organisation held at Chakapada, about 50 km from Phulabani, the district headquarter town.

According to a senior officer, no untoward incident was reported anywhere in the district in the past 24 hours.

It may be noted that the tribal organisation's call for ending violence has come close on the heels of the Orissa chief minister's second visit to the tribal dominated district on September 27 after the outbreak of communal violence which has so far claimed at least 35 lives besides injuring several others.

On his second visit to Kandhamal district, state chief minister Naveen Patnaik's announced a special development package for the tribal dominated district and tribal leaders feel that some of the measures in the package will help restore normalcy in the district.

The chief minister announced the setting up of special camp courts in the office of every revenue inspector to deal with land disputes involving people belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Moreover, there would be a dedicated court at Phulabani under a commissioner for dealing with revenue cases.

Patnaik further said that verification of caste certificates would be taken up on a war footing and ten police inspectors have been deployed in the district for this purpose. He reviewed the situation in the strife torn district in a 90-minute closed door meeting with senior police and administrative officials and said that 500 tribal youths will be recruited in the police force.

The chief minister also announced the opening of eight new tehsils in the district for balanced development of the region.