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By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, May 8, 2017 : Odisha chief minister, Naveen Patnaik on Monday urged the centre for provision of two more battalions of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to tackle the Maoist menace.

Speaking to media persons soon after the Anti-naxal meeting held in New Delhi, Patnaik said, “I urged upon the Home Minister to provide two more battalions of CAPF to Odisha immediately to undertake effective counter measures against extremism in Chhattisgarh, Andhra and Odisha with proper synergy.”

The anti-Maoist strategy meeting of eight affected states was called by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh days after leftist rebels killed at least 25 paramilitary troopers in Chhattisgarh.

Odisha has also demanded inclusion of three more districts- Angul, Boudh and Sonepur in the list of Mao infested districts and Kalahandi in the category of worst affected districts’ list.

“I also urged the Home Minister to include the newly-affected districts of central parts of Odisha under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme and installation of 518 mobile towers in the Naxal-hit districts,” the CM stated.

“Anti-Maoist operations should be intensified in the state. We discussed on various security issues like installation of mobile towers, road connectivity and acceleration of unfinished projects in Mao infested areas,” he added.

The CM further informed that additional fund has been demanded for rail connectivity from Jeypore to Malkangiri and Nabrangpur and Rs 142 crore for Gurupriya Bridge.

Addressing the meet, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh underscored the need for choking of financial resources of left-wing extremist groups saying it was the fundamental instrument to counter Maoist violence.

He called for a more proactive approach to deal with left-wing extremism and for increased use of technology in security operations and to counter left-wing extremism.

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“We need to have enough unmanned aerial vehicles with each battalion. Since extremists use looted weapons, we need to have trackers in the weapons, embed biometrics in triggers and have unique identification numbers in explosive material,” he said.

He stressed on the need to discuss and work out an “integrated strategy” of security by giving impetus to development in 35 worst-affected districts to eliminate the Maoist influence.

He said that “the presence of our forces should instil fear” among the leftist rebels and a sense of confidence among the local people and tribals.