Pottangi: Andhra poll officials had to retreat to their territory after political workers of three major parties in Odisha Wednesday joined hands in Neridibalsa, a border village under Kotia panchayat in Pottangi block of Koraput district, to protest against the neighbouring state’s attempts to conduct polling in the disputed area.
Raising slogans such as “Go Back Andhra” and “Andhra’s high-handedness will not be tolerated,” they opposed the presence of Andhra officials.
Following the protest, Andhra Pradesh reportedly backed down from setting up a polling booth in Neridibalsa.
Instead, it established a booth at Sari ki panchayat, about 1 km from the village, to facilitate voting by residents of Odisha’s border villages.
While political workers remained stationed in Neridibalsa to guard the border and prevent residents from voting in Andhra, the neighbouring state reportedly continued its efforts to woo voters from Kotia’s border villages by organising community feasts and gatherings in its Dandi gram village.
Despite the vigilance of political workers, some border residents reportedly used alternative routes to cross into Andhra Pradesh for casting their votes.
Koraput MLA Raghur am Machha, Kotpad MLA Rupu Bhatra, Sumanta Pradhan, Sunabeda NAC chairman Rajendra Patra, BJD district president Jhin Hikka, former Naba rangpur MP Pradeep Majhi, Zilla Parishad chairperson Sasmita Melaka, former MLA Raghuram Padal, Pritam Padhi, Prafulla Pangi, Congress district president Rupak Turuk, block presidents, Zilla Parishad mem bers and party workers reached Neridibalsa and asserted that Kotia was an integral part of Odisha and would remain so.
At around 5 pm, Parvathipuram Manyam district Sub-Collector Sachin Rahar, Deputy Collector Vaisali and other Andhra Pradesh officials arrived at the Neridibalsa border.
They held discussions with the sub-collector and Kotia Panchayat nodal officer, Fabi Rasid, Pottangi MLA Rama Chandra Kadam, Koraput MLA Raghuram Machha and other district officials at the spot.