Republic Day celebrated first time in decades in Maoist bastion in Odisha
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The 72nd Republic Day was a double delight for the individuals in Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Tuesday.
For the first time in 5 decades, the Day was celebrated in two panchayats in Swabhiman Anchal (beforehand often called Cut-Off space), which was earlier managed by the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
“After the area was cut-off from the rest of the district due to a reservoir project in early 1970s, left wing extremists had established their domination. On October 31 last, the BSF and the Odisha police set up a camp at Gurasethu, which marked fading out of the Maoists’ influence,” Rishikesh Dnyandeo Khilari, Malkangiri SP, instructed The Hindu.
“For the first time after several decades, Republic Day was celebrated and the national flag was hoisted in Panasput and Jadambo panchayats inside Swabhiman Anchal,” mentioned Mr. Khilari.
During the previous one yr, safety forces have strengthened their presence in Swabhiman Anchal by laying roads regardless of stiff resistance from the left wing extremists. Jadambo was type of capital for them in Swabhiman Anchal.
After welfare tasks together with cell phone connectivity and ingesting water amenities have been taken up, villagers began supporting safety forces. Often in the previous, the Maoist cadre pressured individuals to hoist black flags on Republic Day.
After the takeover of Gurasethu, the Maoists have been pushed to Jantri located on the excessive finish of the reservoir. Security forces at the moment are making an attempt to reclaim it.
At the State-level celebrations in Bhubaneswar, Governor Ganeshi Lal hoisted the tri-colour whereas Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik attended as chief visitor. General public weren’t allowed to attend the celebrations this yr in the wake of the pandemic. About 25 platoons of police have been deployed for the State-level celebrations.
