May 10th 2024.
Pottangi: The Andhra Pradesh government has been relentlessly trying to include villages under the Kotia panchayat in Koraput district. In the past, they even offered attractive incentives to the residents of various villages in Koraput district, but their attempts were constantly thwarted. However, they did not give up and continued with their efforts. Recently, they took advantage of the busy schedule of Odisha officials, who were preparing for the first phase of polls, and organized a health camp in Laudi village in Sunki panchayat. This raised eyebrows as the village is legally a part of Odisha.
The Andhra government, in collaboration with a private firm, organized the health camp on Wednesday, hoping to attract the attention of the residents. But their plan failed as the locals informed the officials of this block. The officials then rushed to the village along with personnel from the Sunki police station and shut down the camp. The Andhra officials, however, played the victim card by stating that they were being prevented from carrying out their "humanitarian" duty. They also tried to convince the villagers that if they were a part of Andhra Pradesh, they would receive such benefits regularly. Sources revealed that the Andhra officials frequently visit villages under Kotia panchayat, luring residents with welfare and development schemes of Andhra Pradesh. They also have the support of private organizations in their efforts.
But despite their persistent efforts, they have not been successful so far. In the latest incident, healthcare officials arrived in an ambulance at Laudi village and set up their base at a cultural center constructed by the Odisha government. They distributed free medicines to the people who came for a check-up. Everything was going smoothly until a team of Odisha government officials arrived at the spot. The team included BDO Sukant Patnaik, tehsildar Debendra Bahadur Singh Dharua, chief of the community health center, Dr. Bhagabat Murmu, and medical officer of Sunki panchayat, Dr. Mrigendra Nath Hembram. They were accompanied by the police, who shut down the camp.
The police then detained the entire Andhra team and asked for an explanation. The Andhra officials were released only after giving a written statement that they will not enter Odisha without permission in the future. The police have started an investigation to find out the involvement of locals in the incident and who gave permission to the Andhra team to set up the camp at the cultural center.
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