Attempt to blow up hydel plant foiled

Maoists targeted a BSNL communication tower at Balimela in Orissa's Malkangiri district early on Tuesday morning after the police foiled their attempt to blow up a major hydel power project there.

Superintendent of Police S K Gojbhaye said the ultras had planned to trigger explosions at the 360 MW Balimela hydel power plant, one of the major hydel projects in Orissa, but could not succeed because of heavy police deployment at  Balimela, 40 km from Malkangiri.

Their frustration might have led them to target the BSNL tower, he said.

The police said the ultras had fixed two landmines below the tower, but only one exploded, partially damaging the installation.

This is the third time that the Naxals targeted BSNL communication towers in the district in June, having earlier tried to blow up such installations at Kalimela and MV-79 village.