Visakhapatnam: Odisha’s additional chief secretary (revenue) Satyabrata Sahu visited the Kotia group of disputed villages, currently under Salur mandal of Manyam district, and villages in Koraput district of South Odisha, over claims of administrative intervention by the Andhra Pradesh government.
The visit by Odisha’s top revenue official comes on the heels of AP deputy chief minister P. Rajanna Dora, also the Saluru MLA, paying a visit to the villages.
“The additional chief secretary came to these villages to see the implementation of welfare schemes that have been launched from time to time by the Odisha government,” an official from the Odisha camp said.
However, sources said that the Odisha government was suspecting that Dora’s visit was with a political agenda.
During his visit, Sahu interacted with residents, visited Adarsha Vidyalaya, a recently set up institution and reviewed developmental works with the district collector.
The area has been in the news as residents of three Kotia villages boycotted the panchayat elections held by the Odisha government in February, demanding that they be made part of Andhra Pradesh. These include Doralatadivalasa, Jakarivalasa and Arjunavalasa of Ganjaybadra and Pattuchennuru panchayats under Salur mandal of Vizianagaram, which are mostly inhabited by Adivasis.
