Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJP and Congress party members Wednesday blamed the state government for the ongoing border dispute issue with Andhra Pradesh and other states.
Participating in the debate on admissibility of an adjournment motion over border dispute, Leader of Opposition, Pradipta Kumar Naik pointed out that Odisha has border dispute with four states involving over 96 villages.
“We don’t see any action by the Odisha government to resolve the issue. In Kotia panchayat, the dispute is over 21 villages and the Andhra Pradesh government has recently conducted polls in that locality,” said Naik.
He said that he along with a BJP delegation from the state visited the Kotia area. He alleged that most of the villages lacked basic facilities like transportation, roads, power supply and drinking water.
The Odisha government has neglected the people residing there. Due to lack of Odia medium schools, people don’t understand the language. On the other hand, the Andhra Pradesh government is providing better facilities to them, Naik added.
BJP MLA Jay Narayan Mishra blamed the border disputes on the ‘weak’ leadership of the government. He said taking advantage of this situation neighbouring states are encroaching on Odia territory.
“Either the district collector or the sub-collector should visit the disputed area each month to address grievances of the people. Odia teachers should be appointed in all schools located in border areas.” Mishra said.
Participating in the motion, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is not concerned about the people in Odisha.
“Under BJD rule, land and water bodies are not safe. The government should have deployed police force and prevented the Andhra government from conducting panchayat polls in Kotia. An all-party meeting should be called to discuss the issue,” said Bahinipati.
In his reply, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi said Odisha has border disputes with four states in seven districts. The districts are Koraput, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Ganjam, Gajapati, Keonjhar and Nuapada.
On the Kotia issue, Marndi said the state government has moved the Supreme Court by filing a contempt petition and sought four weeks time from the apex court to reply to the claims made by Andhra Pradesh government.
PNN