Maoists trying to regain ground in bauxite hills
They see an opportunity to exploit tribals’ opposition to mining The
CPI (Maoist), which had receded from Visakhapatnam’s Agency areas in
recent years, has been trying to recover its influence over tribal
communities. The banned naxalite group allegedly sees an opportunity in
the TDP government’s proposal to mine bauxite in the Vizag hills, to
which tribal people in this district have been opposing for long. After
taking over reins, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been
repeatedly stating that bauxite deposits in the Eastern Ghats will be
exploited.
Tribal groups in the Agency area are alarmed that this will result in
their eviction from their homelands and loss of livelihood. Sources say
there have been inputs to suggest that CPI (Maoist) has resumed its
attempts to stoke unrest among tribals. The Maoists are allegedly back
to organising meetings in remote tribal villages in the hills, trying to
rally opposition to bauxite mining. Four meetings are said to have been
held so far with about 1000-1500 tribal people attending. Some elected
representatives are said to have been coerced by the Maoists into
attending some of these meetings. Police are worried over these reports.
They believe Kudumula Ravi, one of the top regional leaders of CPI
(Maoist) in the area, has been active in the tribal hills in the last
eight months trying to organise support for his party.
The forested Agency area provides cover for the Maoists and tribal
populations thrown off their lands and occupations have been their
target groups. But in the face of stern measures by the police, the
Maoists have been unable to get logistic and operational support as they
used to be in the past. But the tribals’ strong opposition to the
government’s proposal to exploit the vast and high-quality bauxite
deposits in 3,600 hectares in Araku, Sapparla and Jerrela areas has
provided another opportunity for the Maoists. Apart from tribals fear’s,
environmentalists too believe that bauxite mining may destroy the flora
and fauna unique to this area.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/maoists-trying-to-regain-ground-in-bauxite-hills/article7262352.ece
Telangana government beefs up security as Maoist activities increases
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)-led government in
India’s newest state has beefed up security in border districts apart
from providing bullet-proof vehicles to ministers, alarmed by the
attempts of Left-wing extremists to regain their lost ground in the
region. The ruling TRS, which had till last year repeatedly debunked the
apprehensions over threat of Maoists once Telangana was carved out, has
also decided to further modernise the police force by earmarking
substantial funds.
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