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Maoists target Reliance mobile tower

BERHAMPUR: Showing up their antipathy towards modern communication systems in the hands of the common man, naxals targetted a mobile tower of the Reliance Telecom at Narayanpatna in Koraput district on Wednesday night.

It was a violent mischief made by the Maoists to coincide with their Martyrs’ week observation which began on Monday.

According to sources, around 25 armed naxals reached the mobile tower at block headquarter town, Narayanpatna, at around 11 pm on Wednesday. They burnt down the battery room of a mobile tower which was completely destroyed. But they could not cause any damage to the tower. Maoists left some posters and banners which claimed that this action was taken to protest against alleged inhuman action of the police. It may be noted that the Maoists had erected a temporary Martyrs’ memorial at Borigi junction, about 8 km from Narayanpatna, in the last two days.

Posters, flags, banners and pamphlets of naxals are making rounds of Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks of Koraput district during their Martyrs’ week celebration.

The attack on the mobile tower was viewed as a major achievement for the naxals as one platoon of armed force along with SOG jawans were said to be deployed in Narayanpatna area since start of Martyrs’ week.

Maoists are opposed to mobile communication in remote areas as it hampers their activities.

For the past few months they have been targeting mobile towers in remote areas of south Orissa. They had blasted a landmine near the BSNL tower at Kalimela in Malkangiri district on the night of June 17 which had injured a havildar of a CRPF patrol but no damage had occurred to the communication tower.

In the wee hours of June 29 armed naxals had attacked the Reliance mobile tower at Durgapadu village in Rayagada district near the Andhra-Orissa border.

They had damaged the diesel generator of the mobile tower. Maosits had tried to blow up a Reliance cell phone tower in Jabuguda village in Koraput district and set its maintenance room on fire on July 2. Both these incidents coincided with the anti-repression week celebration of the naxals.

It may be noted that assessing the threat of naxals on the mobile communication in the naxal infested areas Orissa government is planning to allow telecom operators to set up their mobile towers in some police stations in naxals infested areas.

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