Bhubaneswar, July 13: Incessant rain has hit anti-Maoist operations in Malkangiri and Koraput districts bordering Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

The shower damaged roads and forest tracks over the last week, causing trouble for both state and Border Security Force jawans.

Sources said combing in the interior areas of Malkangiri had come to a halt. Security forces are reluctant to mount any major operation after sunset.

“Rain has hampered our operation in both Malkangiri and Koraput. There is little that we can do about it,” said a senior police officer. Authorities are concerned over the decelerated operations on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border following a flood-like situation in Malkangiri. Combing on the border had been launched in the wake of May 25 Maoist attack on a Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district. This, according to senior officials, can be dicey as Chhattisgarh Maoists can take advantage of the situation and sneak into Odisha.

“The rebels can try to cross the border as Chhattisgarh police have turned the heat on them. The security forces have been successful in thwarting their attempts. However, with rain hampering the combing, the rebels may succeed in sneaking through the border now,” said an officer.

The situation is not much different in Koraput and the Maoists have stepped up their activities.

Sources said the rebels had been organising training camps in the rain-soaked forests of the district believing that the forces would not take the risk of raiding their forest hideouts under the present circumstances. They have also apparently launched a recruitment drive.