Maoist bandh evokes lukewarm response in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Mar 20 (UNI) The bandh called by the Maoists in protest against the Nandigram firing and Singur issue evoked lukewarm response in the Naxalite effected districts of Orissa today.

Official sources said there was a lukewarm response to the call in the Naxal dominated Koraput, Rayagada and Malkangiri districts where traffic was normal.

Government offices functioned normally and business establishments were opened in the area. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the Naxalite areas.

The police have sounded high alert in all the police stations in the districts and areas bordering Chhatishgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Malkangiri zonal committee of Maoists have criticised the state government for not taking proper care of the Naxals lodged in different jails in the state.

In a statement circulated to media, the zonal committee alleged that about 200 Maoists and their supporters, lodged in different jails over the years, were living in unhygienic conditions and deprived of medical treatment.

About 50 Maoists, including 13 women activists, kept in Malkangiri jail had been suffering from Malaria and Tuberculosis without being treated properly.

The zonal committee demanded the Naxalites lodged in various jails be treated as political prisoners.

UNI