Rayagada: After Kotia in Koraput district, the Andhra Pradesh government has launched yet another sinister attempt to grab land in Rayagada district. The matter came to the fore after Andhra Pradesh officials were found constructing a road under Sadar block by encroaching upon a land in the area.
On being informed, officials rushed to the spot and called their Andhra counterparts for a discussion. However, as officials from Andhra did not turn up, the Odisha officials stopped the construction of the road.
Sources said that Andhra officials had encroached upon land and were constructing a road 500 metres inside the border at Palam Tulasi village under Durgapadu panchayat of Sadar block.
On being apprised, tehsildar Tapas Rout, block development officer (BDO) Lakshminarayan Sabat and members of Chasi Ekta Parishad rushed to the spot. They informed the Andhra officials that land should be demarcated first before carrying out any type of construction work. They also informed that the land would be demarcated Tuesday and asked them to remain present for the work. However, the Andhra officials did not turn up following which they stopped the road works.
Later, the Odisha officials put up cement poles to identify the patch of land. When contacted, Sabat confirmed the development stating that the Andhra Pradesh officials were constructing a road by encroaching upon land in Rayagada district 10 days back. The land was demarcated with the help of a revenue map of the area cement poles were put up to prevent entry of outsiders, he added.
