KORAPUT: Unease prevails in the bordering Kotia panchayat under Pottangi block of Koraput district after a dispute broke out during the ongoing census exercise in Upper Sembi village recently.
Pottangi tehsildar Debendra Singh Dharua, who is also the census charge officer, stated that enumerators faced resistance in Upper Sembi while conducting house-to-house data collection. Some villagers allegedly refused to provide the required information and, in certain instances, attempted to prevent others from cooperating with the census team.
On April 18, some villagers reportedly stopped the census team from carrying out the enumeration exercise in Upper Sembi. Following the incident, the enumerator concerned filed a complaint with the Pottangi police. Based on the complaint, police on Saturday arrested two villagers, identified as Tadingi Piluka and Tadingi Chiranjeevi, on charges of non-cooperation and obstruction of government duty.
Police sources said the arrested persons work as agents of the Andhra Pradesh government in Kotia panchayat and had opposed the census activities carried out by the Koraput administration.
Reacting to the arrests on Sunday, Andhra Pradesh minister Sandhya Rani strongly objected to the action taken by Odisha Police. She claimed that the 21 disputed villages along the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border fall under Salur mandal of the neighbouring state. Alleging intimidation, she accused Odisha Police of frequently entering these villages and harassing tribal residents.
Responding to Rani’s claims, School and Mass Education and ST & SC Development minister of Odisha Nityananda Gond said the police acted in accordance with the law. He rejected the allegations of harassment of tribal residents, asserting that Kotia is an integral part of Odisha. He also advised the Andhra Pradesh minister to understand the ground realities before making such statements.
Gond said the census is a national exercise and officials deployed in the region are performing their lawful duties. He emphasised that no one should obstruct such work and government servants must not be manhandled during the discharge of their responsibilities.
Sunabeda sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Sumitra Jana said the situation in Kotia is peaceful. However, police are keeping a close watch.
The situation has assumed significance in view of the ongoing jurisdictional dispute over the Kotia region. While Odisha authorities are carrying out the census exercise in the panchayat, Andhra Pradesh officials are reportedly conducting a parallel self-enumeration drive among residents claiming affiliation with their state.