KORAPUT: In a fresh bid to appease Kotia inhabitants, Andhra Pradesh-nominated sarpanch of Ganjeipadar on Wednesday urged the government to either reserve or increase seats for tribal girls in P Konavalasa Higher Secondary School at Salur Mandal in Vizianagaram.
Sarpanch Gamel Dibakar and one of his predecessors Bishu Gamel made the appeal which is being seen as a follow-up on the neighbour state administration’s visit to Kotia where it is planning to create a language-based divide.
On August 5, a team led by the head of a regional party of Andhra Pradesh, Jana Satta, visited Kotia and submitted a memorandum to Parvathipuram ITDA Project Officer appealing to put up signboards written in Telugu in the villages.
It also discussed the education of girls in Kotia with the panchayat officials and encouraged them to put forth the demand for reservation of seats to the AP government since schools are set to reopen from August 16.
Odisha government is running a tribal welfare residential school at Thuria for the children of Kotia but how many of them stay back if the demand is met remains to be seen. Former MLA Nimai Sarkar said Kotia dwellers have tribal status in Andhra Pradesh while majority of the Dora community are considered as OBC in Odisha, prompting the obvious tilt of the villagers.
Padmanabh Jani, secretary of the Adivasi Samaj said despite all-round development in the Kotia area, there are no schools for children from the Kondh community to encourage learning in Kui language. "Adequate number of schools should be opened in all Kotia villages to maintain the cultural connect and win the confidence of the people," added Jani.
Meanwhile, a closed-door meeting of the Superintendent of Police, the Additional Superintendent of Police and Pottangi BDO was held at the Collectorate.