Andhra health team stopped inside Kotia; Odisha officials intervene amid renewed border tensions

Tensions resurfaced in the Kotia region on Friday after a health team from Andhra Pradesh entered Uparaganjei Padar village under Kotia panchayat without permission, prompting immediate intervention by Odisha’s local administration.

Sources reported that officials from the Pottangi block directed the visiting team to halt its activities and leave the area, marking yet another instance of Andhra personnel operating inside territory administered by Odisha.

Odisha Officials Ask Andhra Team to Leave

Reports stated that a team from the Tonam Group Health Centre in Parvathipuram Manyam district arrived in Uparaganjei Padar and began holding a health camp early on Thursday. The team reportedly gathered villagers, carried out medical examinations and distributed medicines. Odisha authorities were alerted soon after the activities began.

Block officials reached the spot and instructed the visiting personnel to stop the programme immediately. A brief exchange followed between the two sides, after which the Andhra team withdrew from the village.

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Repeated Outreach Programmes Add to Tension

The latest intrusion came in the same week after Andhra officials conducted a tribal fair inside another village claimed by Odisha. Earlier in the week, personnel from the Parvathipuram Manyam district administration reportedly entered Nereduvalasa under the same Kotia panchayat and organised an ‘Adivasi Mela’ on the weekly market day.

According to reports, the event was coordinated by the Girijan Cooperative Corporation under the supervision of the ITDA Project Officer at Salur. Stalls were set up to promote products from different Andhra tribal cooperatives, and pamphlets were distributed among villagers. The programme marked the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

The fair was held without any coordination with Odisha’s district or block administration, and no official response had been issued by the Koraput authorities at the time.

It is worth noting that Kotia, which comprises 21 villages administered by Odisha but also claimed by Andhra Pradesh, continues to witness periodic administrative visits from both states. Meanwhile, sources confirmed that the Andhra health team left Uparaganjei Padar after being asked to stop the programme, and no further activity was reported from the area as of the last reports.