Maoist shadow over Medaram jatara

WARANGAL: Fearing that the Medaram jatara may be utilized by Maoists to re-establish their roots in Telangana, the police have made elaborate security arrangements at all exit and entry points of Medaram village. The biennial tribal fair, which sees the participation of thousands of people from different states, is scheduled to begin on February 12.
Warangal district rural police superintendent LKV Ranga Rao said the police had received intelligence inputs on Maoist threat.To counter that, as many as 8,600 police personnel will be on duty at Medaram and surrounding villages. “We have constituted a team with surrendered Naxalites to identify the underground Maoist cadre at the Medaram jatara,” the SP said. The police will also deploy a helicopter to keep a close watch on the movement of people, including armed Maoists, and to avoid stampedes.
Though the authorities have left no stone unturned on the security front, they are lagging behind when it comes to development works and amenities for the pilgrims. A little over 20 per cent of the Rs.110 crore sanctioned by the state government has been spent so far even as officials are racing against time to complete the pending works before the four-day jatara begins.
About 20 lakh pilgrims had offered prayers to the deities Sammakka and Saralamma during the 2012 jatara. And it’s not just from AP but devotees from Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh too gather in hordes in the Medaram forests, nearly 100 km away from Warangal, to worship the deities after taking a dip in the Jampanna Vagu.
This year, the jatara will commence on Wednesday and conclude on Saturday. On Wednesday night, Saralamma will reach ‘Gadde’ (pedestal) from Kannepally village, symbolizing the beginning of the fair.