Koraput: The Congress has warned that chief minister Naveen Patnaik would not be allowed to enter Malkangiri ahead of the formal inauguration of the newly constructed bridge over the Gurupriya river.

The Congress and the BJD traded barbs over the development of the tribal-dominated district with Congress working president and former Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Majhi declaring that the party would launch an indefinite dharna before the Malkangiri collectorate from July 9. He alleged that the government had failed to address the basic issues of the district and threatened to not allow Naveen into the district to inaugurate the bridge.

"The state government has failed to develop the tribal communities of the district. Around 2,000 children of the district are forced to drop out as they cannot get their caste certificates. Though have demanded a resolution to the issue for a long time, the government is deliberately ignoring it," he said.

"The government has also stopped providing land patta under the Forest Rights Act in the district. Ramchandra Mandra of the Bonda tribe, who was studying in a private institute in Bhubaneswar, has been missing for three years and the government has failed to trace him."

"The chief minister will not be allowed to enter Malkangiri unless these things are sorted out," he added.

However, the BJD's Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi hit back at the Congress leader and said the former parliamentarian was playing dirty politics and misleading the people in the name of development.

"He had represented Nabarangpur in the Lok Sabha for five years and should introspect as to what he has done for Malkangiri. While the district had only 168km of motorable road during his tenure, we have added 1,400km to the road network in last four years," he said.

The BJD leader added 21 big bridges had been constructed in the district in past four years. In the health care sector, while 30 doctors were posted in 2014, the number has gone up to 75.

"A seven-storey 300 bed hospital in Malkangiri will be commissioned shortly. We have constructed three sub-stations in the district and over 500 villages have been electrified. If these are not development, then the Congress leader must be blindfolded. He needs to leave his urban comforts and visit villages in Malkangiri to witness the development," he said.

"For the past five decades, people had been demanding a bridge over the Gurupriya and the Congress was in power for a long time during that period - both in the state and the Centre - but why didn't they do it? Our government that completed the bridge in three years."

The BJD leader said his Congress counterpart was panicked over the party's diminishing support base in Malkangiri and raising baseless allegations with an on the 2019 elections.

"He should come up with specific problems, if any. If 2,000 students have dropped out, then let him hand over the list to us," he said.

Constructed for Rs 172.58 crore, the 910m bridge over the Gurupriya will connect 151 villages situated on the other side of the Balimela reservoir with the mainland.