Maoist activity at its lowest ebb in Andhra Odisha Border region

Maoist activity at its lowest ebb in Andhra Odisha Border region. The year 2023 has been bad for the Maoists as its cadre strength has dwindled and almost all their top leaders, including Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, have fled to safer places in Chhattisgarh

After a gap of almost two decades, the movement of the banned Left Wing Extremist (LWE) outfit, CPI (Maoist), is at its lowest ebb in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) region this year.

Once known as the Maoist hotbed after Chhattisgarh, the LWE movement in the region is now a shadow of the past.

But the lull in the hotspot is not to the liking of the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist). Sources say that the Central Committee members are not happy with the waning of the movement in the AOB, and have been asking the leaders of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) to re-enter the area and regain its lost ground at least in some of the areas.

The year 2023 has been bad for the Maoists in the region. From an initial strength of about 500 cadres and 1,500 militia members, dominating at least 18 of the 22 mandals in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, the strength has dropped to below 20 cadres and about 100 militia members.

More importantly, almost all the top surviving leaders, including the chief of AOBSZC, Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, have moved to safer places in Chhattisgarh. They are said to be taking shelter in the south Bastar area of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh.

Apart from a few surrenders and arrest of a couple of small-time leaders or members, there is hardly any Maoist activity in the region this year.

The only notable development was the unearthing of a few primitive booby traps in Chintoor mandal of ASR district by the CRPF and the combing operations of the elite anti-Nnaxal force of Andhra Pradesh.