Koraput: The much awaited ambulance service in Kotia panchayat of Koraput district is to commence from Saturday, a source informed. Furthermore, health centres at Dasmantpur, Narayanapatna, Kotpad and Laxmipur will also get an ambulance each.
“Kotia is important for us, so we will keep one ambulance there. The existing ambulances at Laxmipur and Mathalput are old ones and will be replaced. Similarly, Dasmantpur and Kotpad did not have any ambulance, hence, the two health centres will be provided one each,” Koraput Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Makarand Beura said while briefing media persons at a presser held in the morning.
New ambulances have been sourced for the purpose out of district mineral foundation (DMF) fund. It has been decided that the vehicles will be maintained by the centres concerned, the CDMO added.
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Worthy to note, Kotia panchayat has always been abuzz in the media owing to border row between Odisha and neighbouring Andhra. The state government has been facing serious criticism over its alleged neglect to the three disputed villages under Kotia panchayat.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik have agreed to work closely on resolving inter-state issues during an in-person meeting held November 9.
Several issues were discussed in the meeting, particularly in the field of water resources, common boundary, energy, left-wing extremism. Reddy met Patnaik to settle issues between the two states, especially the dispute over a cluster of 21 villages under Kotia panchayat.
Odisha government constituted an eight-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra to deliberate on the pending bilateral issues of mutual interest with the neighbouring state.
PNN