The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Odisha’s Malkangiri district unearthed seven improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from the Communist Party of India (Maoist) hotbed of Swabhiman Anchala area on Tuesday following the seizure of a huge cache of explosives on the border of Malkangiri and Koraput districts on the previous day.
Sukumar Sarangi, a public relations officer (PRO) of the BSF, said that acting on intelligence inputs, a team of the paramilitary force’s 9th Battalion was carrying out a combing operation at Tutugumi village under Panasput panchayat at Swabhiman Anchala, which is located close to Odisha-Andhra Pradesh (AP) border, when they stumbled seven IEDs packed in tin and steel containers.
“The BSF personnel has been conducting combing operations in the northern parts of the area and has reached Jodambo. It is being suspected that the Maoists have been stockpiling IEDs to target BSF troops,” said Sarangi.
Sarangi said the BSF personnel cordoned off the area and detonated the seven IEDs.
Earlier on Monday morning, a joint patrol team of BSF and Koraput District Voluntary Force had seized 18 pieces of emulsion explosives, 500 pieces of gelatin, three camera flash guns, 15 metres (m) of wire, 1,200 grams (gm) of splinter and several Maoist literature near the Koraput-Malkangiri border.
The Swabhiman Anchala, which comprises 151 villages, was physically cut-off from the rest of Malkangiri district because of water from Balimela reservoir, which is a part of the Machhkund hydroelectric power dam that was built in the 1940s.
The Swabhiman Anchala was considered a Maoist bastion and large tracts were inaccessible except by long and dangerous boat rides across the Balimela reservoir until Odisha completed the construction of a 910-m bridge over the Gurupriya river in July 2018.
The state government is gradually making its presence felt since July 2018 in the erstwhile Maoist hotbed by building roads, providing healthcare services and constructing telecom towers.
Manish Agarwal, district collector (DC), Malkangiri, said the authorities have initiated started healthcare services at Public Health Centre (PHC) Janbai, PHC Jodambo and the sub-divisional hospital at Chitrakonda.
In September, a trial run of the mobile network was successfully completed at Pipalapadar, Hantalguda and Jantapai villages in the area.
In July, the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) authorities had started the maiden government bus service between Malkangiri and Jodambo inside the Swabhiman Anchala.
The state government has announced a development package worth Rs 100 crore under the Socio-Economic Transformation and Uplift scheme for the backward region in Odisha.
By Hindustan Times
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