Odisha to seek more forces to combat Maoists

Odisha will reiterate its demand for additional central forces to tackle Maoists in the eastern state, an official said on Wednesday.

"We will seek two more battalions of central forces and infrastructure development, including better mobile and road connectivity in Maoist-affected areas during a meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh," Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said after holding a review meeting on anti-Maoist strategy here.

On May 8, Rajnath Singh will preside over the meeting in Delhi of Chief Ministers, Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of 10 Maoist-hit states.

The Chief Secretary said lack of mobile connectivity is a problem in certain areas, which needs to be addressed.

"The bandwidth is not sufficient for Internet connectivity in districts where mobile connectivity is otherwise available, putting locals and security forces to inconvenience. We will thus demand for improvement in mobile and road connectivity," Padhi said.

Among those present at Wednesday's meeting were DGP K.B. Singh and Home Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy.

--IANS

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