Surkhet, December 7 :

A total of 250 personnel of the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have fallen ill in the Maoists’ main camp and sub-cantonments in Surkhet.

The Maoists said they fell sick due to cold, mismanagement of the shelter and lack of proper food.

At least 250 People’s Liberation Army soldiers in the main cantonment at Dashrathpur and sub-cantonments at Lekhfarsa, Kalyan and Gamkhola are suffering from various diseases, the commander of the Maoists’ Sixth Division, Pratik, said today.

They have shown symptoms of diarrhoea, influenza and body swelling.

About 6,000 PLA soldiers in the main and sub-cantonment sites are putting up in the open ground due to lack of necessary infrastructure, said Pratik.

The unavailability of medical treatment has worsened the situation, he said.

He added that the construction of infrastructure has been delayed, as the budget is yet to be released.

The Maoists are also taking shelter in the houses of locals. The locals complained that the Maoists have been occupying their houses for a month although they were allowed to stay for a few days only.

“Our children are forced to sleep on the cold floor due to their overstay,” a local said, requesting anonymity. Chief District Officer of Surkhet Anil Kumar Pandey said a team of health workers today left for the camp sites.

Meanwhile, our Chitwan correspondent said the cantonment sites in Chitwan still lack drinking water. Spokesperson of the Maoists’ Divisional Office Abiral said water is being brought to the camp from as far as 12 km.

Commissar of the Maoists’ No 3 Division Kul Prasad KC (Sonam) alleged that although an understanding was reached for the arrangement of roads, electricity and drinking water, nothing has been done by the government in this regard.

A sum of Rs 20 million has been spent on food grains as of now but the government has disbursed just half of that, Sonam further said.

Chairman of the local camp management committee and Chief District Officer, Netra Bahadur Rawal, said that a detailed study is being carried out regarding physical infrastructure like electricity, roads, drinking water and telephone services.