The Border Security Force (BSF) on Sunday established a new coy operating base named COB-Tulasi close to the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.

Deputy inspector general of BSF Malkangiri Sector, Shailendra Kumar Sinha, inaugurated COB-Tulasi in presence of Commandant 02 Bn BSF Manoj Karki, Malkangiri superintendent of police (SP) Nitesh Wadhwani and other BSF officials. The local sarpanch was also present on the occasion. For the first time, the national flag was unfurled in the area as the Tulasi Dongri Reserve Forest has been a safe haven for the Maoists for a long time thanks to its topographic remoteness and dense forest coverage.

The BSF and Odisha police said in a joint media release: “Establishment of COB-Tulasi in the interior pockets — in the bordering area of Odisha-Chhattisgarh — is a milestone to execute various developmental works, providing government aids to the locals and to sanitise the area from the grip of Maoists and their activities for the gross benefits of the inhabitants in this region.”

It further said that of late, the BSF established six COBs encircling the Tulasi Reserve Forest area and they have been carrying out calibrated and effective domination to curb Maoism in this region.

The BSF has been deployed in the hypersensitive Maoist-hit Malkangiri district since 2010.

Since the deployment, the BSF is operating actively in the area and successfully countering the Maoists’ strategy for the safety and security of the public in the interior pockets and remote localities of Malkangiri.

During the occasion on Sunday, a large crowd from nearby villages namely Tulasi, Cherkotla, Kirmiti, Gogapadar, Kotapadar and Daldali gathered near the newly established base and welcomed the BSF troops warmly. A feast was organised by the BSF at the venue for all the villagers to commemorate this occasion.

The BSF also distributed clothes, medicines and other necessary items to the people.