Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sanction and fund the construction of a corridor of road network all along the borders of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh equipped with communication and other facilities to effectively tackle the Maoists taking shelter in the tri-junction between these three States.
Once this facility comes up, police/security forces will be able to end the Maoist problem to a large extent.
Speaking at a conference of Chief Ministers convened by the Prime Minister at New Delhi on Wednesday on Internal Security, he also sought funds to implement Hyderabad Surveillance Project under which 5,000 CCTVs were being installed in the city to handle another problem—terrorism. A legislation would be introduced for putting in place a minimum standard of security measures in shopping malls, theatres, busy eateries, industrial establishments, educational and religious places.
Funds were also sought to set up special anti-naxalite intelligence wings and district levels named State Intelligence Branch and Naxalite Information Bureau and also Emergency Response Management system, a police helpline for citizens working on toll-free No 100.
Mr. Reddy said his Government had effectively controlled Maoists on the inter-state borders but any let-up by forces due to lack of road corridor might prompt them to strike from hideout. AP was coordinating with States having common borders. Mr. Reddy said the left wing extremism haunted AP for 40 years but the Government was able to phase it out to a large extent by adopting a two-pronged strategy, fighting the naxalites on one hand with all its might, and ensuring welfare of the poor on the other through various initiatives. Development of interior and inaccessible places was ensured by construction of roads and lift irrigation schemes.
A programme called Public Perception Management had been taken up to educate people against falling prey to the extremist ideology and on the opportunities made available to them to come up. A Winning Hearts and Minds (WHAM) is taken up to wean the youth away from the naxalite influence. To make police station people-friendly, front offices will be established in them with all the facilities for the complaints.
Referring to acts of terrorism in the State ever since 1992, more particularly the recent blast at Dilsukhnagar, Mr. Reddy said security forces were facing problems in monitoring communications by terrorists on internet. He mentioned in particular Gmail, Yahoo, Nimbus, Skype, and other VoIP channels whose headquarters were located abroad. The Centre must take up this issue with the authorities concerned and find a solution, he added.
