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Orissa beefs up security to ward off Naxal theat

A strict vigil will be maintained in the Naxalite dominated and communally-sensitive districts of Orissa during the Lok Sabha elections.

State chief electoral officer A S Sarangi told mediapersons that the Naxalite-dominated districts of Gajapati, Malkangiri, Rayagada and communally-sensitive districts such as Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar would receive special attention.

Polling in Orissa would be held in two phases on September 25 and October 3.

Sarangi said the state's border would be sealed on the poll days. In addition to the deployment of state police, the electoral office in Bhubaneswar had also requested the Centre to provide adequate paramilitary forces. While the Centre had agreed to provide 25 companies, Sarangi said some more companies were expected to arrive after polling in other states was complete.

Meanwhile, a senior government official said the Centre had been approached to provide 47 companies of paramilitary forces for the election. Sarangi said for the first time, senior members of the National Cadet Corps would be deployed in some urban areas on poll days to assist police.

He warned that the number of inaccessible booths was likely to increase compared to the parliamentary elections held in 1998 due to incessant rains in most areas of Orissa. Sarangi said that about Rs 250 million would be spent for conducting the elections.

UNI

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