The recent spurt in Naxal activities, especially in the mineral belts of Orissa, threatens to jeopardise the economic growth of the state.
Orissa’s economy in the five years up to 2007-08 grew at an average of 11.88 per cent per annum as against 9 per cent national average, primarily because of the i
ncrease in the mining revenue. As the state was desperately attempting to recover from economic slowdown period blues, Naxal violence in the mineral rich Keonjhar and Jajpur districts has seriously hampered exploitation of iron ore, thus threatening disruption in supply of the key raw material to dozens of steel and sponge iron industries.
Daitary town in Keonjhar district, which otherwise remains busy round-the-clock with at least ten thousand trucks thronging the place for loading of iron ore — wears a desolate look now. All shops have downed their shutters fearing fresh attacks by the red rebels.
Daitary police station assistant sub-inspector Umesh Marandi, who was taken hostage by the rebels after the attack on Wednesday night, still remains untraced. The Maoists have demanded release of at least 20 tribals who were recently arrested from Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur areas.
The situation in southern parts of the state continues to remain grim as all communications to major towns in the region have come to a grinding halt. Bus services and transportation of essential commodities to the Maoist-affected pockets have stopped after the rebels set some vehicles on fire protesting recent killing of their leader Cherukuri Raj Kumar alias Azad by the Andhra Pradesh police.
In districts like Malkangiri, Rayagada and Koraput, the Naxals have literarily launched a campaign to destroy all tele-communication networks. According to reports, they have destroyed at least 30 mobile towers in the three districts in the last two years by triggering explosion.