To instil confidence among voters to exercise their franchise for the Lok Sabha election, Anti-Naxal Squad (ANS) personnel conducted combing operations in areas identified as Naxal-affected in Hosanagar taluk on Thursday and Friday.
It may be mentioned here that, during the 2009 Lok Sabha election, posters were pasted on the walls of the government higher primary school in Kumbribailu village in Sulagodu Grama Panchayat limits by the suspected Maoists appealing to the villagers to boycott the election.
As many as 26 polling booths in Hosanagar and Tirthahalli taluks fall under Naxal-affected area. For the Lok Sabha election, all 26 are likely to be classified as critical.
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On Thursday, combing operations were organised in forests in Yadur, Sulagod and Karimane Gram Panchayats in Hosanagar taluk. The ANS personnel also combed the forest in the vicinity of Kodachadri hill and in the villages located in Varahi reservoir backwater area on Friday. They interacted with residents in Holagaru, Kattinahole, Koranakote and Khairagunda villages. A programme to create awareness among the people on the importance of voting was also held at the office of Sulagodu Gram Panchayat as part of Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation(SVEEP) campaign.
The ANS has planned similar combing operations in Naxal-affected Agumbe, Bidaragodu and Honnetalu Gram Panchayats in Tirthahalli taluk.