Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to deploy two additional battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to contain Naxal insurgency in the districts bordering Chhattisgarh.
The demand for additional CRPF troops was raised by Patnaik at the conference of chief ministers on internal security in New Delhi. "Installation of mobile towers and DSPTs in the Naxal affected areas may be expedited by BSNL, allocation under Integrated Action Plan (IAP) be restored to the level of 2012-13 and the districts of Dhenkanal and Bargarh should be included under IAP," he said at the conference.
Though Patnaik admitted that there has been overall improvement in tackling Naxal violence, the situation remained difficult in parts of Malkangiri and Koraput districts and challenging in Nuapada, Bolangir and Bargarh districts.
On other issues concerning internal security, Patnaik demanded enhanced provision for construction of marine police stations, adequate and timely release of funds for modernisation of police forces. Reiterating his demand for expediting Presidential assent for Odisha- Protection of Interest of Depositors Bill passed by the state legislature he said, "This would provide the necessary legal framework to the economic offences wing of the state which has taken up investigation of a number of financial frauds relating to money circulation schemes."
