Other States - Orissa   

Efforts to maintain calm in 2 districts

— Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Cry for justice: Activists of CPI (M) taking out a rally demanding restoration of peace and punishment to guilty persons in Kandhamal district, in Berhampur on Thursday. They submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the RDC later.

BERHAMPUR: Arrests related to the communal violence in Kandhamal district rose to 94 and no fresh case of violence was reported from the district on Thursday.

Speaking over phone from Phulbani in Kandhamal district, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern range, Satyabrata Sahu said 40 cases had been registered in relation to communal violence in different parts of the district. As per official records 2563 persons were affected by communal violence. Efforts were on to get Indira Awas houses constructed for the homeless victims within next three to four months, he added.

Meanwhile efforts were on to maintain communal harmony in Gajapati and Ganjam districts that border communal violence-hit areas of Kandhamal district.

For the past one week Gajapati district Collector D.V.Swamy has been camping in Mohana block of Gajapati district to maintain communal harmony at the villages in this area.

The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Gajapati district is also camping in Raigada block of the district.

Speaking over phone, Mr Swamy said the administrative officials were visiting villages bordering Kandhamal district to hold peace meetings making people of different communities come together to discuss and thwart attempts of mischief by any outsider to disrupt harmony at the village. The Collector himself initiated peace committees at sensitive villages like Panigonda, Damadua, Chandiput which have sizeable Christian population.

Similar measures to keep peace were taken up at Salmagocha and Goudagotha of Sorada block in Ganjam district, as these areas were prone to communal violence, said Sub-Collector of Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district, Purna Chandra Sethi. Mr Sethi created peace committees at these places. It was an immediate need as a large number of panicked families from Katingia area of Kandhamal district had entered Sorada block of Ganjam district. More than 100 of these families were shifted to a relief camp at Karadabadi on Thursday.

The police were checking all vehicles entering Kandhamal district from Mohana block by the Adaba-Brahamanigaon road.

A company of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), that had reached the Brahmanigaon area was patrolling the area on the border of Kandhamal and Gajapati district to stop any attempt of by miscreants from outside.

As areas of Gajapati district are infested by Maoists, this inter-district border was on strict watch not to allow Maoists take advantage of the situation in Kandhamal district.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Truckers plan indefinite strike
12-hour Cuttack bandh total for traders
Relics installation ceremony
Five gangsters held
Efforts to maintain calm in 2 districts
Phulbani records lowest temperature of State
Paswan to lay stone for RSP works
Rs. 1,000 cr. for road projects
Award for Swosti Group
Sanjukta Prativa Samman for Odissi dancer
Black belts for six students of Kung fu
Stress on distance education
Meet the Artist
Feeling safe
DRDO takes steps to save Olive Ridley

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu