Hyderabad: Tension continues in the disputed Kotia region along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border ahead of Andhra Pradesh's local body elections scheduled for Thursday (November 5), with Odisha stepping up security and imposing prohibitory orders across 21 villages.
The Kotia cluster comprises 28 villages under Pottangi tehsil in Odisha's Koraput district. Both states claim jurisdiction over 21 of these villages, making the region a longstanding point of dispute between the neighbouring states.
Odisha Police on Tuesday stopped Andhra Pradesh officials and security personnel from entering the disputed region through the Neridivalsa checkpost. The situation escalated into a confrontation between personnel from the two states amid attempts to remove barricades set up by Odisha authorities.
Koraput Superintendent of Police Rohit Verma said police personnel had been deployed across the region and that Andhra Pradesh police were not allowed to enter. A truck carrying rice under the public distribution system (PDS) was also stopped at the border a day earlier.
The Koraput district administration has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) across the 21 disputed villages to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh has shifted a proposed polling booth from Neridivalsa to Sarika, located on its side of the border, following objections from Odisha. The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission has also sought a report from the Parvathipuram Manyam district administration on the objections raised over the proposed polling arrangements.
The developments come amid Odisha's legal challenge to Andhra Pradesh's decision to conduct elections in the disputed region. The Odisha government has filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court, alleging that the election notification violates the status quo arrangement recorded by the court in 2006.
The Kotia dispute dates back to 1968, when Odisha approached the Supreme Court alleging that Andhra Pradesh had encroached on villages claimed by the state. On December 2, 1968, the court ordered both states to maintain status quo.
In March 2006, it dismissed Odisha's suit, holding that the dispute fell outside its jurisdiction under Article 131 of the Constitution. The court, however, recorded an agreement between the two states to maintain status quo until the dispute was resolved or the arrangement was varied by an appropriate authority in accordance with law. (with inputs from media organisations)