Pottangi: Andhra Pradesh offi cials have reinstalled the Telugu-language signboards within 24 hours of their reported removal by a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) delegation in the disputed Kotia panchayat area of Koraput district.
A team of BJD representatives had visited border villages under Kotia panchayat in Pottangi block Friday and removed several signboards installed by Andhra Pradesh authorities. However, a team of offi cials from Andhra Pradesh, accompanied by police personnel, visited Fatusineri village Saturday and reinstalled the damaged boards with the help of local residents.
The delegation included Salur block MPDO (BDO) G Parvati, Station House Officer (SHO) Ravindra Raj and P Ram Krishna, the Inspector-in-Charge assigned to the Kotia panchayat area. The officials reportedly urged villagers not to feel intimidated by the ongoing dispute, assuring them that the Andhra Pradesh government would continue to support them. They said officials from both states would continue visiting the area while the dispute persisted.
The Andhra Pradesh team also assured residents that their voting rights could not be taken away and that assistance would be provided to enable them to vote at Tonam panchayat during the elections. Officials inspected arrangements to ensure peaceful voting November 3 in the border panchayats of Tonam, Kodama, Kurukuti and Sarika, as well as Odisha’s Ganjeipadar.
Of the five panchayats mentioned, Ganjeipadar is in Odisha but falls under a panchayat established by Andhra Pradesh in the disputed area. Voters from 10 wards are expected to cast their ballots at a polling station housed in an ITDA building in Neridivalasa village. The report also states that residents of Odisha’s Phagun Sineri village will vote in Kodama panchayat. The latest developments highlight the continuing administrative and electoral tensions between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh over the border villages.