Jairam Ramesh could not visit Maoist-hit village of Bihar

Patna,(BiharTimes): Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, who was on a visit to the state on Saturday and Sunday, could not visit an extremist-affected village in Sitamarhi because the district administration advised him against it on the ground of security.

According to reports he wanted to visit Giddha, a Maoist-hit village under Runnisaidpur block of the district, over 100 km north of Patna. But the Sitamarhi district administration advised him against going to the village for security reasons.

The upset minister then said that he wished to visit the village because it was said to be the worst Maoist-affected area of Sitamarhi, the district on India-Nepal border.

He said he asked the district administrative officials on Saturday to make preparations for his visit to Giddha on Sunday morning. But the officials replied that it was not advisable to visit the place because of security reasons.

The Union minister had reportedly expressed his wish to visit Giddha on the persuasion of JD(U) MP Arjun Rai after the review meeting at the Sitamarhi circuit house on Saturday. But Sitamarhi acting district magistrate Ramashankar Prasad Daftuar said it was not possible to provide a security umbrella to him at a short notice.

The DM said that the administration advised him not to visit Giddha because it did not want to take any chance. He also said that Ramesh had a tight schedule and his visit to Giddha was not included in the itinerary provided to the district administration.

He said the minister was supposed to see the chief minister in Patna at 6 pm on Sunday. So it was decided to take him to another village–– Gadha––which was on the way to Patna from Sitamarhi.

Additional director-general (headquarters) Ravinder Kumar said the minister was willing to visit a village which is connected through a kuchcha (non-metallic) road. The police did not have time to sensitise the area. It is a Maoist-affected area and there is always the threat of landmines on such roads. Sensitising an area is a must from the security point of view before the visit of any VIP.

Reports said that since taking charge of the rural development ministry last year, this is the first time Ramesh was unable to visit a place he had wanted to.

“I have so far visited 30 Naxalite-hit districts across the country, including Saranda forests in Jharkhand. But I did not face such a situation earlier. Sitamarhi is my 31st visit to a Naxalite-affected district in the country after assuming the charge of the rural development ministry,” Ramesh was quoted in The Telegraph as saying.