On the advice of Gajapati district Collector Anupam Shah, Kashinagar Tehsildar Shanti Swarupa Mishra on Wednesday visited the Minigaon area on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border and ensured that the area belongs to Odisha and not to Andhra Pradesh.
According to reports, the Gajapati district has now sealed the roads at Miningaon FCI godown and other places on the board by digging trenches on roads to check entry of people to the area after a Covid positive was detected in Purunapatana Mandal in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh recently. This inter-State road runs through the Kurulunda reserve forest and belongs to Odisha. It is also marked in the Odisha map. However, the Andhra Pradesh administration has put a signboard claiming it owns the region.
On being informed by locals, the Collector directed the Tehsildar to visit the site.
Meanwhile, locals have demanded legal action against the Andhra Pradesh for acquiring the stretch in Odisha illegally.
