Pottangi: The District Collector of Koraput Abdaal M Akhtar was shocked to find Tuesday the presence of an ambulance belonging to neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh at a village in Kotia panchayat. Akhtar was present at the panchayat office for some review work of the ongoing projects when the ambulance arrived. It just goes to prove that the neighbouring state is still continuing to offer healthcare sops to people in Kotia panchayat in an effort to woo them in support of Andhra Pradesh.
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have gone to the courts over jurisdiction of Kotia panchayat. The matter is sub-judice. In spite of that, the AP administration is trying its best to take control of some of the villages under Kotia panchayat. It couldn’t have been a more blatant exposure of the AP government’s intentions as the ambulance from the neighbouring state arrived at Talasembi village to drop off a woman and her newborn. All of this happened in front of Akhtar only. The stubborn and defiant attitude of Andhra officials has come as a shock to many in the district administration including Akhtar.
Sources said the woman identified as Kuneti Lachhmi was pregnant and was ready for delivery. However, her family members instead of taking her to the Kotia health centre chose to rush her to the Salur health centre which falls in Andhra territory. She delivered a baby Sunday night and as she did not have any major complications, she was released from the hospital Tuesday. The health centre also provided an ambulance to drop her home at her village. The incident proves that the Odisha government’s effort to keep the people of Kotia panchayat in a happy frame of mind is proving futile. The state government is spending a substantial amount of money for development in villages under Kotia panchayat.
However, people of villages near the border with Andhra Pradesh do not seem to be impressed by the efforts of the Odisha government. Instead, they rely on the facilities being offered by the Andhra government Political observers said that officials in Koraput district need to work more and on a long-term basis to gain the trust of local people and wean them away from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.