Kathmandu: The growing violence in Nepal's troubled Terai plains has forced the Prime Minister to order stepped up security in the region. The Prime Minister, who has been flayed by the main opposition Nepali Congress for the deteriorating law and order in the country, issued special instruction to security agency chiefs to step up security in the Terai plains bordering India. He held consultation with chiefs of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department (NID) and gave them special instruction to take immediate steps to contain violent activities and anarchy there, according to state-run The Rising Nepal. The meeting held yesterday was" a part of regular briefing," said Prachanda s press advisor Om Sharma. Nepal s Terai lowlands are home to about half of Nepal s 27 million people, and the residents of the region, known as Mahadhesis, have long complained of discrimination by the Himalayan nation s hill communities. The pro-Terai parties argue that people in the Mahadhesi-dominated southern Terai region have long been treated as second-class citizens in Nepal, where hill-origin elites dominate politics, the security forces and business. There are more than two dozen armed groups active in Terai plains fighting for greater rights and representation in the state structure. The government is currently holding talks with half a dozen armed outfits of Terai in a bid to bring them to the mainstream politics by seeking to end their political grievances. According to sources close to the Prime Minister, Prachanda is learnt to have expressed concern over the tendency of giving every criminal activity in Terai a political colour. The Prime Minister asked the heads of security organs for necessary security arrangements in Terai so that people felt safe and secure.