May 9th 2024.
In the district of Koraput, located in the state of Odisha, there has been an encouraging improvement in the situation of the Swabhiman Anchal area, which was previously affected by Maoist presence. As a result, the administration has decided to make a change in their approach for the upcoming elections. In 2019, to ensure the safety and smooth functioning of the polling process, officials and security forces were air-dropped to various polling stations in the Swabhiman Anchal. However, with the completion of the Gurupriya Bridge in 2018, which connected 151 villages in the cut-off area with all-weather roads, the need for air-dropping has significantly reduced.
According to an official, out of the 23 polling stations in Swabhiman Anchal, only two will require air transportation for polling personnel. For the remaining stations, officials have arranged for boats and road transportation to ensure their safe and timely arrival. The Superintendent of Police for Malkangiri, Nitesh Wadhwani, mentioned that in the previous elections, helicopters were primarily used to transport security personnel and polling officials. However, this time, they have decided to opt for road travel, except for the two remote polling stations without road connectivity. In case of any emergency, a helicopter will remain on standby at the nearby Jeypore airport.
The SP also noted that the situation in Swabhiman Anchal has improved significantly, allowing for candidates to campaign without any restrictions due to Maoist presence. In the past, there were only 100 hyper-sensitive polling stations out of a total of 547 in the district, but now, the entire Swabhiman Anchal area is open for campaigning with adequate security arrangements. The primary goal of the administration is to conduct a free and fair election without any violence, and all necessary measures are being taken to ensure this.
Despite a decrease in Maoist activities in the district in the last 19 months, security personnel remain on high alert, especially along the inter-state boundaries of Odisha with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where most of the hyper-sensitive polling stations are located. The SP mentioned that they are conducting intelligence-based operations in coordination with the neighbouring states to ensure the safety and security of the polling process. The district comprises of two assembly seats, Chitrakonda and Malkangiri, which fall under the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat, where elections are scheduled to take place on May 13th.
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