Bhubaneswar: Deputy Chief Minister K.V. Singh Deo and Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik on Friday submitted a detailed report to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on the prevailing law and order situation in violence-hit MV-26 village of Malkangiri district.
After visiting the affected areas and holding discussions with district officials as well as representatives of both Adivasi and Bengali communities, the ministers briefed the Chief Minister at Lok Seva Bhawan.
Speaking to the media, Minister Gokulananda Mallik said the team held extensive deliberations with the district and police administration, community members and local leaders before preparing the report.
“Both communities want peace. The situation is under control. The Chief Minister will take appropriate steps,” he said, adding that multiple factors were found to have contributed to the unrest.
Even five days after the violence, MV-26 continues to grapple with distress. While some residents have begun returning, they are met with the painful sight of charred homes and destroyed belongings. Household items purchased with hard-earned income from collecting tola, mahua and kendu leaves now lie reduced to ashes. From televisions and refrigerators to quilts and utensils—nothing has been spared.
Women, children in arms, were seen sitting outside their burnt homes and weeping inconsolably. Many villagers say they do not have a single piece of cloth left to wear. Hunger has aggravated their misery, with people reportedly running behind vehicles in the hope of receiving a handful of food grains. With help trickling in from neighbouring villages, affected families are somehow managing to eat meagre portions of dal and rice.
Malkangiri district has 214 Bengali villages, several of which are now living in fear. In some places, shops and markets are barely functioning. In others, residents lock their homes at night and seek shelter elsewhere. Despite the return of partial normalcy, underlying tension persists across pockets of the district.
To stabilise the situation, 20 companies of CRPF have been deployed in and around MV-26, while BSF and district police personnel maintain strict vigil inside the village. Both Adivasi and Bengali organisations are reportedly making efforts to restore peace.
Meanwhile, the district administration has completed a preliminary assessment of the damage. Engineers are measuring the extent of destruction to houses, while the revenue department has recorded losses of burnt property. ICDS has distributed food supplies to pregnant women and children, and cooked food is being provided in certain locations.
In a late-night visit on Thursday, the Southern RDC, accompanied by the Malkangiri Collector, walked through MV-26 to review the situation firsthand.
