Patnaik seeks more central support to fight Maoists

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday asked the central government to provide additional support to counter the Maoists in five districts.

"There has been an overall improvement in the situation in Odisha in 2012-13 in terms of the Maoist violence. The situation however remains difficult in parts of Malkangiri and Koraput districts and challenging in Nuapada, Bolangir and Bargarh districts," the chief minister said in his address here at a conference of chief ministers on internal security.

He said although the state government had taken several measures to upgrade its capacity to fight Left-wing extremism, these efforts required additional support from the central government.

He urged the central government to deploy urgently two additional battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force to contain fresh build up by the Maoists in districts bordering Chhattisgarh and provide one dedicated military helicopter.