In the grip of the Reds?

HYDERABAD: Has the doomsday predictions of some pundits that the creation of Telangana will lead to a spurt in Naxalite activity and violence in the new state become a reality? The central government seems to think so and the state government has no clue.

In an official release last week, the central government said that eight of the 10 districts in Telangana are

Left-Wing Extremism

(LWE) affected. The districts named are Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Medak, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal and Nizamabad. Only the two urban districts of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy have been excluded from the list.

Incidentally, among the 106 districts declared as left-wing extremism affected, eight districts of Andhra Pradesh also figure - Anantapur, East Godavari, Guntur, Kurnool, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. "By this reckoning, 16 of the 23 districts of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh are hit by Naxalite violence. How could this be possible?" wondered a senior police official.

Incidentally, as of March 2015, only four districts of Telangana (Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal) and four in AP (East Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram) were declared Maoist-affected. In fact, six years ago, only Khammam and Vizag in united AP were declared as Naxal-hit. In December 2010, then chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had urged the Centre to include the other six districts in the list. Thus, post bifurcation, the two states had four districts apiece that were LWE-affected. "Some extremist literature was recently detected in Medak, but that cannot mean it is Naxal-hit," said a top official.

When asked about the current scenario, Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma said as far as he is concerned, only four districts in the new state are Maoist-affected. "You are telling me something I am not aware of. I can react to the development only after I see the central communication. As far as the state is concerned, only Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam are left-wing extremism affected districts," the DGP told TOI.

The LWE division in the Union home ministry was created in October 2006 to effectively address the Naxalite insurgency in a holistic manner. This division implements security-related schemes aimed at capacity building and monitors the situation and counter-measures being taken in the LWE-affected states.

As per the list of LWE-affected districts, Bihar is the worst hit, with 22 of its 38 districts declared Naxal-hit, followed by Jharkhand (21 of 24 districts). As many as 19 of 30 districts in Odisha and 16 of 27 districts in Chhattisgarh are hit by Naxalite violence.

A growing phenomenon?
Over the years, the list of Naxal-affected districts, according to the Centre, has grown

Current scenario: Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Medak, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal and Nizamabad (Telangana); Anantapur, East Godavari, Guntur, Kurnool, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram (AP)

March 2015: Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal (Telangana); East Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram (AP)

6 years ago: Khammam and Vizag (united AP)

QUOTE
I can react to the development only after I see the central communication. As far as the state is concerned, only Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam are left-wing extremism affected districts

- Anurag Sharma, Telangana DGP