Bhubaneswar, August 25: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday said Left Wing Extremism (LEW) continues to be a challenge in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput and Nuapada. He said this while replying to a debate in the Assembly and claimed criminal activities of the Maoists have gone down in the 11 districts of Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Nabarangpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sundergarh and Nayagarh, despite the CPI (Maoist) efforts to re-group in these areas.
“The position continues to remain challenging in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput and Nuapada,” he said. The Chief Minister said in order to improve mobile connectivity in the Maoist-affected areas, 253 locations have been identified for setting up new mobile towers.
“However, unless the Centre proactively spends from the USO (Universal Service Obligation) Fund, mobile operators will not set up these towers. This continues to be a matter of concern,” Patnaik said. He said to provide road connectivity to the remote areas of Malkangiri district, construction work on the much awaited Gurupriya bridge has started, which would connect over 100 villages and help overall development. PTI
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