The locals don't know what to make of it. Till a few months ago when the soldiers came on patrols the villagers cowered because the army would punish them if they were sheltering Maoists. And the Maoists would target them if they were suspected of being informers.

When the army operation began here last week with helicopters landing in the corn fields the locals were stunned. But this time, the soldiers came to win their hearts and minds with medical care, food, clothing, education and even free hair cuts. The locals say the security personnel are applying themselves to this end with as much, if not more dedication as they took in flushing out the Maobadis.

The Royal Nepali Army swooped down on 7 June to distribute clothes, stationery to students, biscuits and sweets. "It's like Dasain," said one astonished Baglung villager. Even the Chief District Officer glowed with goodwill. An office was opened to help locals get their citizenship immediately. There even was help at hand to apply for passports.

In Palpa's Rampur, residents received medical attention not only for humans, but livestock too. Some villagers had staked their spot in both lines leading to two different clinics. The camps also offered minor surgery by both army and civil doctors. Dhana Maya Ghale, 84, was delighted. "The army is doing everything for us now," she says. "Life has become much better."

Army officials said they have been helping out for quite sometime. "Before, our focus was on providing immediate relief during natural calamities like flood and landslides. Now we are trying to look at all aspects," said one army officer. They have joined hands with local clubs and business communities to help the people in these districts.

The Maoists are conducting their own hearts-and-minds operations, helping farmers plant paddy, re-roof their houses and build roads to make it easier for villagers to travel to the district headquarters.