Maoist bandh throws life out of gear in Malkangiri

OST Bureau

Malkangiri, Sep 3

Vehicular traffic in Malkangiri district today came to a standstill,  putting life completely out of gear in the district due to a one-day bandh call given by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in protest against the recent killing of Maoist leader Madhav alias Golla Ramullu by security forces.

Commuters had a tough time as Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) suspended its bus services between the district headquarters and Jeypore and other locations for the day. However, no instance of felling of trees to block roads has been reported.

While some shops remained open in urban areas, the rural areas in the district wore a deserted look amid possible threat from the Maoists.

No incidence of violence, common during Maoist shut down calls, was reported even as security was beefed up in sensitive areas like Mathili, Podia, Chitrakonda, Motu, Govindpalli, MV-79 and Kalimela.

The CPI (Maoist) had called for a day’s shut down alleging that Madhav was killed in a fake encounter. Madhav, who carried a Rs four lakh reward on his head, was gunned down on August 23 in an encounter with a joint team of Special Operation Group (SOG) and police from Malkangiri and adjoining Koraput districts during combing operation in forests near Machhkund.