Ever since the lockdown has come into force a number of interior villages in the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) region have been using innovative means to restrict the entry of outsiders and prevent local residents from venturing out, except for the purchase or collection of essentials.
This has hit the CPI (Maoist) cadres hard, as they have been depending on the villagers for their regular ration. “When getting enough ration for our own families has become difficult, how can we supply essentials to Maoists?” wonders a tribal from Pedabayalu mandal.
Earlier, the Maoists had been depending on the PDS supply to tribals for their regular ration, now that it is being regulated, this supply line has been cut off. Moreover, most of the villages have a self-imposed ban on entry.
Recently, some Maoists tried to enter a village but were stopped by the residents at the entry point. Because of this, the supply of rations, vegetables and livestock were affected, hitting the left wing extremists, remarks Superintendent of Police Attada Babujee.
Virus fear
The fear of being infected by the novel coronavirus has also restricted their (Maoist) movement.
The Maoist who have retreated to the Cut Off area in AOB, have also not been coming out due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
“If one gets infected then the entire squad gets infected and treatment is far from their reach. This has restricted their movement to sporadic forays into the villages, where they are being rejected, says ASP of Chintapalle Satish Kumar.
Survival techniques
The Maoists are prepared for being cut off from everything and they are trained in survival techniques. When all fails, they know how to lie low and survive on forest produce and fall back on the ancient methods of hunting to feed themselves, explains a senior police officer, engaged in anti-Maoist operations in AOB.
Revenues hit
The lockdown has also hit the revenue flow of the Maoists. Their main sources of income are collections from contractors, weekly shandies and smuggling of ganja.
All the three have come to a standstill and sources in the intelligence wing indicate that revenue flow to the LWE have been seriously affected. “They are now relying on their stashed cash dumps and buying essentials from the grey market on the Odisha side,” sources say.
