Bhubaneswar: Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Wednesday described the eight-hour statewide bandh called by the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) as a complete failure, labelling it a “super flop”.
He asserted that farmers throughout Odisha largely ignored the protest.
Elaborating further, the minister said: “The Congress had also supported the bandh call and we had expected it to have some impact on the ground. The farmers did not take to the streets because they are happy with the government, which is procuring paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal.”
Patra stated that the procurement process was progressing smoothly across all 30 districts and 37,91,225 metric tonnes of paddy had been procured across the state as of Tuesday. “More than Rs 8,000 crore has already been directly credited to the bank accounts of farmers,” he said, adding that the process is nearing completion in several districts, including Bargarh, Sambalpur, and Sonepur districts.
The minister asserted that Mohan Majhi government has stuck by the promi
ses it had made to the people of the state.
The bandh was called in protest against alleged irregularities in paddy procurement, heavy fines imposed for PUC certificate violations, and arbitrary actions by Tata Power regarding electricity tariffs. Opposition parties, including the Congress and CPI(M), extended their support to the bandh, with the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) describing the issues as aligned with public concerns and urging people to participate.
Though educational institutions were shut, commercial establishments remained open. Though Ama Buses continued to ply in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, public transport was partially hit with private buses remaining off roads in different places. There were reports of partial disruptions of vehicular movement in some areas, with NNKS activists blocking major roads, burning tyres at some places and staging picketing in the state capital as well as the rural stretches.
Heavy security arrangements were put in place at key intersections across Bhubaneswar by the Commissionerate Police, with high-security deployment at sensitive locations and multiple platoons of police forces stationed to ensure smooth public movement and prevent disruption to government work.
The ruling BJP had earlier criticised the bandh as a “fake farmers’ movement” lacking genuine grassroots backing, accusing opposition elements of using the NNKS as a proxy for political gains.