Orissa urges people to return to Kandhamal

With many people yet to return to their villages in Kandhamal despite restoration of normalcy in the riot-ravaged district, the Orissa government will soon issue media advertisements assuring the displaced of full protection.

"We will soon go to the media, appealing to people to return to their villages in Kandhamal, as normalcy has been restored. The district has been violence free for the last 15 months," said Kandhamal's Special Administrator M S Padhy.

Padhy said the government, through the Kandhamal administration, has been assuring the victims of full protection. A toll-free number has been installed at the district collector's office to receive complaints, he said. Claiming that the government had already brought back approximately 30 families from Kerala, who migrated during the 2008 riots, Padhy said steps would be taken to ensure the security of all those who wanted to return to Kandhamal.

The state government's reaction came after church leaders, particularly after the EU diplomats' visit, alleged that many are still scared to return to Kandhamal, apprehending fresh violence.

"Many from Kandhamal have been taking shelter in different towns of Orissa besides migrating to Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab," Archbishop Rapheal Cheenath claimed.

He said nearly 11,000 families had been initially displaced from their homes due to the violence, adding that an estimated 1,200 families migrated to different places and could not return.