By IANS
Raipur : Maoist rebels have ordered thousands of families in Chattisgarh's Bastar region to stay away from the current season's kharif crop cultivation, police said Sunday.
Leaflets and posters ordering people to stay away from the cultivation this season were distributed and pasted in the interior areas of the region spread over the five districts of Narayanpur, Bijapur, Dantewada, Bastar and Kanker.
These districts have a rich tradition of getting good paddy yield in the monsoon season.
"They (Maoists) want to destroy the farm set up in Bastar and force people to face starvation so that they can inspire the unemployed youths to join the Maoist movement holding the government and local authorities responsible for their worst economic plight," a senior police officer told IANS over phone from Bastar.
In the tribal dominated Bastar region, paddy is the main kharif crop.
"At least three farmers, who went against the dictates, were killed this week in separate incidents in the interior areas of Bastar," said Girdhari Nayak, Inspector General of Chhattisgarh's Maoist Operations.
Bastar remains a backward region despite having stocks of fine quality iron ore.
Various private companies such as Essar Steel and the public sector National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (NMDC) are working here.