Chidambaram today said he expected the rising civilian, militant and security personnel casualties in Naxalite-affected areas to continue in 2010, the remarks being seen as an indication of the Centre’s resolve to unleash a protracted operation. The Union home minister cited data to argue how “the situation in the states affected by Left-wing extremism continues to be a cause of grave concern”. The maoist-affected zones, he pointed out, had reported more...

A THREE-HOUR motorcycle ride from the border with Andhra Pradesh’s Khammam district and the thick jungles of Chhattisgarh close in. This is remote terrain — villages are spread out over several kilometres; distances measured by the hours taken to walk from one village to another. Schools, hospitals and motorable paths are not even imagined. This is also a self-declared maoist stronghold. Outside every village stand red concrete columns 25 feet...

maoist-hit Koraput region will soon find a place on the international map, but for a different reason. The region is going to be recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation as a “globally important agriculture heritage system” on the pattern of world heritage sites declared by the Unesco, said eminent agro scientist M.S. Swaminathan here today. Considering the extraordinary biological and agricultural diversity of the Koraput region, which needs to be protected...

Violence in West Bengal’s western districts has reached crisis proportions. Each day, one or more cadre member or sympathizer of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] is killed either by maoists or the Trinamul Congress (TMC). The maoists have found common cause with the TMC, a breakaway from the Congress Party in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, whose authoritarian populism draws from both Juan and Evita Peron, leads the TMC. Backed...

The filthy, moss-covered ponds that many rural people depend on could turn into limpid pools of fresh water if a central scheme that kicks off in June is a success. The government plans to list every water body in the country, assess the condition of each, and “revitalise” the most neglected ones through de-silting and prevention of pollution and encroachment. A sum of Rs 4,000 crore has been set aside for the...