Centre convenes meeting of Naxal-affected states on March 4

The Centre has convened a meeting of top police and civil officials of Maoist-hit states on March 4 to review anti-Naxal operations and improve the efficacy of strategies.
Chief secretaries and DGPs of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will take part in the meeting in which in-depth deliberations will be held on the security situation in the 'Red Corridor' and development initiatives.
The meeting, earlier scheduled on February 20, has been reconvened on March 4, a Home Ministry official said.
It would deliberate on the issue of coordination among state and central police forces and decide on a strategy to tackle Naxals who are known to flee from one state to another after carrying out offensives.

The meeting will also review the development programmes being carried out in Naxal-hit districts and ways to speed them up to reach the maximum number of people.
Among other key issues that would come up for discussion are mobile telephone towers in Maoist-affected areas where the rebels often target and destroy the communication network and improvement of road connectivity.
Naxal violence has been reported in areas falling under 270 police stations in 64 districts of these states.