Andhra Pradesh: Change of government in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh has increased the hope of ending the dispute

Vijayanagaram: After the formation of BJP government in Odisha, people and leaders of Parvatipuram Manyam district are hopeful that the long-standing dispute with the neighbouring state will be resolved. Andhra Pradesh has two major issues with Odisha. One is the dispute over Kotia villages and the other is the Jhanjavati reservoir project, which is to be resolved through bilateral talks. The Jhanjavati project is located on the border of erstwhile Vijayanagaram and Koraput districts. The project aims to supply water to 24,640 acres of land, benefiting 75 villages in Komarda, Parvatipuram, Garugubilli, Sitanagaram and Makkuwa mandals. But Odisha is opposing the project on the ground that it will wipe out some villages in the submergence area of ​​the project. It is not ready to lose the villages and is demanding the Andhra Pradesh government to reduce the height of the project to save those villages. This dispute has been pending for the last 50 years while there have been several meetings of the Chief Ministers of the two states including YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Naveen Patnaik in 2021. Another intriguing issue between the two states is Kotia village. Around 22 villages including Ganjayabhadra and Kotia were overlooked by the Central government during the division of Andhra and Odisha states in the early 1950s and since then these villages have become a bone of contention. Both the states are fighting for legal rights over the region. It is a remote hilly area where the 22 villages are surrounded by dense forests in the Eastern Ghats. Both the states are also providing facilities like Anganwadi centres, MNREGS job cards and ration cards to the residents. The people of the village are keen to merge with AP instead of Odisha but the authorities are preventing AP officials from entering the area. The change of government in Odisha has raised hopes that this 70-year-old dispute will be resolved. The basis of this optimism is that the BJP, which forms the government in Odisha, is also part of the NDA in Andhra Pradesh. Speaking on the issue, Parvatipuram Manyam district BJP president Dwarapureddy Srinivas Rao said, “The formation of NDA government in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha is a good sign for the people of this region. We will talk to Odisha leaders and BJP state unit and make every effort to resolve those issues. Now we have the option to meet the Odisha government and tell them about both the long pending issues. We will coordinate with our party high command and will definitely resolve these issues.”