Bhubaneswar: Rains have arrived at a time when the security forces were planning to step up their operation against Maoists, especially in the districts of Malkangiri and Koraput.

Sources said that incessant rainfall has slowed down the movement of security forces as roads have suffered extensive damage in the interior areas of these two districts bordering Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Malkangiri police superintendent Jagmohan Meena admitted that monsoon months were always a difficult time for the security forces involved in the operation against rebels. "Though our men are carrying out combing operations clad in raincoats, the inclement weather certainly slow them down," said the officer.

While the security forces cannot but wait for the rains to relent to resume their offensive against the rebels, the latter are reported to be using the opportunity to regroup and strengthen their base in areas where they had suffered at the hands of police and central paramilitary forces in the past. Meena said that the Maoists become more active in the rainy season as the weather suits them and they also know the forest topography much better than the security forces.

Another officer said that this was also the ideal season for the Maoists to cross the Chhattisgarh border and enter Odisha. "The possibility of rebels sneaking into the state through Chhattisgarh border cannot be ruled out. Though the security forces try their best to thwart such attempts, rains prove to be an impediment," said an officer requesting anonymity.

The situation in Malkangiri and Koraput districts had been discussed at June 8 meeting of senior police officers of seven eastern states affected by Left-wing extremism. Following the meeting, Odisha police director general R.P. Sharma had underscored the need for inter-state cooperation in tackling the Maoist threat and had cited Malkangiri's "cut-off" area as a fit case for carrying out joint operations as it was more approachable from the Andhra Pradesh side.

That the Maoists have stepped up violence in Malkangiri is evident from the killing of Ganga Madkami, a tribal man from Sudhakonta village in Kalimela police station limits, on June 21. The rebels suspected Madkami to be a police informer. Meena said two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.