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Bandh paralyses life in Kandhamal

BERHAMPUR: The bandh call given by an alleged new Maoist outfit ‘M-2’ had its impact in Kandhamal and Gajapati districts on Saturday.

The normal life was completely disrupted in Kandhamal district while it was partially affected in Gajapati district. This new Maoist outfit had given this bandh call in Kandhamal, Gajapati and Ganjam districts of south Orissa. But their bandh call had no impact in Ganjam district. No untoward incidents were reported till evening during this bandh call. Patrolling by CRPF personnel had been intensified in Kandhamal district on Saturday.

Vehicular traffic came to a standstill in all parts of Kandhamal district. No passenger vehicles plied inside the district. No passenger buses also left the district for destinations outside it. The impact of the bandh was evident in all the 12 blocks of the district. Its impact was slightly low in Khajuripada area. The educational institutes, banks, shops and business establishments remained closed all over. Only the government offices remained open. Efforts were made to block the K.Nuagaon-Baliguda road by felling trees in the morning. A team of Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) reached the spot in time to clear the road.

In Gajapati district the impact of the bandh was evident in the areas having proximity to Kandhamal district like Mohana, Chandiput, Birikote, R.Udaygiri etc. Shops and business establishments remained closed in these areas. No passenger vehicles travelled from district headquarter Paralakhemundi to these areas. But buses plied between Paralakhemundi and Berhampur. The irony is that no one including the police is having any concrete information regarding this new Maoist outfit which gave this bandh call as a mark of its establishment in the State . They used pamphlets and posters as means of propaganda for this bandh call. The Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said investigations would be made to get more information about the origin of this new outfit. This bandh call worried Maoists. Naxal leader Sabyasachi Panda through an audio tape sent to mediamen in Bhubaneswar claimed that this call and new Maoist outfit was nothing but propaganda of Sangh Parivar. But his proclamation had little impact as in the past naxals have also resorted to similar calls through a few letters sent to mediamen, some posters and pamphlets. As per the pamphlets, the new group ‘M-2’ also calls itself “IDGA-Maoist”, the acronym for “Idealize of Democrat Garila (Guerrilla) Army (Maoist)”. They claim that they had to split away from the Orissa unit of the CPI (Maoist).

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Bandh paralyses life in Kandhamal

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