Tension Escalates Between Andhra Pradesh And Odisha

Tension escalates between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha over claim on a gram panchayat.

Tension has arisen again due to the claim of both the states on the Kotia gram panchayat adjoining the border of Andhra Pradesh in Koraput district of Odisha, bordering Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

Rajan Dara, MLA of Salur, Andhra Pradesh, has announced to organize Bhoomipujan of some government buildings there, distribution of land leases to villagers, plantation, etc.

It is also claimed that 500 people from Andhra Pradesh will go to Fatusuneri village of Kotiya Panchayat and organize the event.

Leaders of all political parties of Odisha are opposing this move of the MLA.

Former BJP MP from Koraput, Odisha, Jairam Pangi, Congress leader Taraprasad Bahanipati, BJP MLA Pritam Padhi came out in protest.

On the other hand, the Odisha administration has changed the medium of instruction from Telugu to Odia in the village school.

An all-party delegation from Odisha had visited the area on August 16. Seeing the matter deteriorating, the Koraput administration has posted 11 officers there, giving them judicial power.

The police force has also been deployed along the border. Barricades have been put up between Fatusuneri in Odisha and Nandigram in Andhra.

The administration on the Kotmi border is on alert in the wake of the recent violent clashes over the border dispute between Assam and Mizoram.

Koraput Collector Abdal M Akhtar said that no one will be allowed to disturb law and order.

The important thing is that the villagers of this area are taking advantage of the development programs of both states.

Villagers have two ration cards, two voter IDs. They are getting a pension from two states, BPL rice from two states, etc.

This has created a constitutional crisis there. This is the dispute, both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha claim rights over Kotia Gram Panchayat.

Tension escalates between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha: The matter is pending in the Supreme Court since 1968.

The court has asked both the states to maintain the status quo, but the situation has been worsening due to political interference in between.

Kotia Gram Panchayat is in Narayanpatna Block of Odisha. Its boundaries are adjacent to the villages of Salur block of Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh.

There are 28 villages in Kotmi Panchayat. When the state of Odisha was formed in 1936, the revenue survey of 21 villages of Kotmi could not be done.

Even when Andhra Pradesh came into existence in 1955, these villages were not surveyed. Since the formation of Andhra, both the states have been claiming their respective claims on this area.