Orissa requires more Central forces: Minister

Kochi: A day after nine anti-Maoist Special Operations Group (SOG) jawans were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Orissas Koraput district, the States Finance and Excise Minister, Prafulla Chandra Ghadai, said here on Monday that no State could singularly fight the menace.

Mr. Ghadai, however, exuded confidence that Operation Green Hunt, jointly launched by the Central and the State forces in Orissa in April, would be effective in combating the endemic problem.

�It [Maoist insurgency] is a national issue, but the Central government was a little late in responding to it that way, Mr. Ghadai, on a brief visit to the city, told The Hindu at an interaction.