Odisha govt to provide skills training to surrendered Maoists
The Odisha government has decided to relax the educational requirement for former Maoists to facilitate their skill development training in state-run centers in Left Wing Extremist-affected districts. "With an increasing number of young Maoists returning to the mainstream, they need to be properly rehabilitated so that they can take up jobs," Sanjay Singh, the secretary of Skill Development and Technical Education, said.
Training to be received from ITIs, SDCs
The Odisha government has asked the Director Technical Education and Training (DTET), Cuttack, to facilitate the training of former Maoists in state-run Skill Development Centers (SDCs) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITI).
Maoists surrendering is on the rise
The state government has already set up five ITIs and 10 SDCs in the Maoist-affected districts. Though only four red radicals had surrendered before the police in 2008, the number of surrendered Maoists is on the rise now due to a progressive surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state, a senior official in the Home Department said.
15 Maoists have surrendered so far this year
At least 31 Maoists had surrendered in 2016 and 26 in 2017. This year, till now, 15 Maoists have surrendered before the police. The state government is hopeful that more Red rebels will surrender after the bridge over river Gurupriya, connecting the cut-off areas with the mainland in Malkangiri district, was opened for the public on July 26.
