By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Hundreds of tribals on Friday staged protests in Orissa’s Malkanagir district against a police offensive launched against Maoist guerrillas in the state.
The protesters marched towards the district headquarters, holding posters and banners, and demanded that the anti-Maoist operations be halted.
The protesters, led by Kanda Reddy Unnayan Sangha (KRUS), presented a memorandum to the district authorities that the tribals will be the worst affected in the anti-Maoist operation.
“Tribals will be caught in the fight. They will not be able to go into forests to collect forest produce,” said Ramarao Majhi, who heads KRUS.
Five battalions of paramilitary forces consisting about 5,000 personnel have arrived in the state over the past weeks. The crackdown against the Communist Party of India-Maoists has started in Malkangiri, Koraput and Rayagada districts.
Maoists are active in more than half of the state’s 30 districts. At least six districts are considered as their stronghold.