Suspected Maoists from Galikonda Area Committee set a hydraulic excavator (JCB Proclainer) on fire in Jamparlova area of GK Veedhi mandal in the Agency area of the Visakhapatnam district last night. Police said that about 40 armed rebels, including a few women, doused the hydraulic excavator with petrol and torched it. The ultras also asked the workers living in nearby shelters what was the purpose of laying the road, police said. Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) is laying this clay road on the 10-km stretch between Chatrapalle and Galikonda, where the bauxite mines deposits have been located. The Maoists have opposed the plans for bauxite mining in the area. They had similarly destroyed JCB machines at another road-construction site in the mandal a few months ago. PTI
