Odisha govt asks collector to prevent construction by WB

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has asked the collector of Balasore district to prevent construction work by the West Bengal government on the Odisha side of the border.

This was stated by Revenue and Disaster Management minister S N Patro while giving a statement in the Assembly on Friday.

The minister was reacting to concern expressed by BJD MLA Annanta Das who alleged that the West Bengal government has been undertaking construction on the state's border.

"The collector has been asked to prevent any construction by West Bengal," the minister said.

He said the sub-collector of Balasore district visited Udaypur village at the direction of the collector on February 11 and reported that there was no construction on the Odisha side.

The sub-collector has also stated in his report that a wall is being constructed by the West Bengal Government 182 feet from Udaypur road on land belonging to Odisha.

This was not for the first time that reports on construction by the West Bengal government on land belonging to Odisha had come to the notice of the state government, the minister said, adding that earlier, there were reports that it was attempting to encroach on land in Udaypur village in the state.

A decision has been taken to convene a high-level meeting between the Odisha and West Bengal governments to resolve the issue.