Bhubaneswar: Responding to fresh border tensions, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari on Sunday asserted that Kotia rightfully belongs to Odisha.Addressing media personnel, the Minister stated that the Odisha government is actively monitoring the situation and stands fully prepared to thwart any provocative manoeuvres or attempts by the neighbouring state to conduct local body elections in the disputed area. “Odisha is the mother of Kotia, and Andhra should remain like an aunt,” Pujari remarked.The Minister’s remarks follow a notification issued by Andhra Pradesh announcing local body polls across three villages within Kotia gram panchayat — Phagunasineri, Ganjeipadar, and Phatusineri. Andhra Pradesh officials have sought to absorb these villages, located in Koraput district’s Pottangi block, into three separate panchayats under Salur block of Parvathipuram Manyam district. The notification outlines elections for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) seats scheduled for November 3, followed by three-phase sarpanch elections running from late November through early December. With the nomination window for MPTC and ZPTC seats closing on October 18, the move has reignited the long-standing inter-state border row.
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