Tension Along Odisha-Andhra Border As Polling Begins In Kotia Panchayat Villages

Koraput: Tension prevailed along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border on Thursday as polling was held at Tonam and Saraki booths in Andhra Pradesh for elections in Fatusineri and Neredibalsa villages of Kotia panchayat, amid the long-standing boundary dispute between the two states.

Allegations have emerged that voters are being pressured to cast their votes in the Andhra Pradesh elections. While some residents reportedly participated in the polling, the Koraput District Lawyers Association staged a protest against the exercise. The Odisha administration has stepped up vigilance along the border.

More than 16 platoons of Odisha police, each comprising around 30 personnel, have been deployed in the region. Police have blocked roads, established three checkpoints and restricted the movement of Andhra Pradesh police into Kotia. Odisha police have also stopped voters from crossing the inter-state border.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government shifted the polling booth at Neridivalasa to Sarika village, within its territory, on Thursday night.

The situation has remained tense over the past two days, with officials from Odisha’s Koraput district and Andhra Pradesh’s Parvathipuram Manyam district reportedly engaging in confrontations while asserting their respective jurisdictional claims.