Date:04/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070456061300.htm

National

Villagers in Lalgarh still in grip of fear

Raktima Bose

BIRBHANPUR (West Medinipur): A face behind a wall, an aged woman suddenly slipping inside a house, people running away into the fields — these are the common sights a journalist sees in several villages in the Lalgarh region.

Fear has gripped the villagers so much that they are scared to speak to strangers and are trying to escape from being questioned.

At Birbhanpur, 21 km from Lalgarh, a young woman, when asked about her last venture into the adjoining Kalaimuri forest to collect “sal” leaves (making sal plates is their only means of livelihood), said: “Why are you asking me this question even after knowing the situation? I will not answer.” She did not even disclose her name.

Even as the security forces continued the operation to flush out Maoists, restoring confidence among the villagers seems to be a difficult process.

Most of the houses in Saluka, Kalaimuri, Birbhanpur, Madhupur and Salghasha near the Kalaimuri forest, a former Maoist stronghold, are still empty.