Koraput: Senior BJP leader and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today visited the disputed Kotia villages, to which both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh Governments lay claim, in Pottangi block and said the region is an integral part of Odisha.
“Kotia is an integral part of Odisha. I will submit a report to Centre and discuss with the Odisha Government for overall development of the region,” said Pradhan after visiting the area and interacting with the Kotia residents.
The Kotia residents are mostly people belonging to Kondh tribe and they eke out a living by doing minor cultivation on the hill slopes.
Kotia has been in headlines since January after a team of Andhra Pradesh Government, including the district collector of Vizianagaram, visited few villages in Kotia panchayat and launched their welfare programmes and distributed old-age pensions to few beneficiaries.
On January 9, Vizianagaram collector Vivek Yadav and former Salur MLA RP Bhanja Deo visited Talaganjeipadar village in Kotia panchayat limit and distributed blankets and pensions to 65 beneficiaries as part of the Janmabhoomi programme.
Kotia Panchayat has 28 villages of which, 21 villages are on disputed zone between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
