Naveen Patnaik unhappy over central help to fight Maoists

Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik today expressed displeasure over Centre's help to fight Maoists in the state.

"We are still waiting for the central force to arrive," Patnaik told reporters while replying whether he was happy over Centre's assistance to prevent Maoists.

Patnaik who left for New Delhi to attend internal security meeting on Sunday, said, "Though the state had been demanding for central forces to curb Maoist menace, it was not coming."

Stating that he was hopeful of arrival of central forces soon, Patnaik said the state police with its limited resources had been giving challenge to the ultras.

Patnaik at the internal security meeting would demand three more battalions of central forces, sources in state home department said.

While the state had only five battalions of Central Para-Military Force (CPMF), Centre had agreed to send another batch of five battalions of BSF jawans. BSF jawans were yet to arrive in the state, officials said.

Alleging that Centre was delaying to send forces, the state had been facing a lot of difficulties in containing the Maoists who already have made their presence felt in 15 of the state's 30 districts.