Bhubaneswar: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Odisha on October 25 to inaugurate a Rs 170-crore Reserve Bank of India (RBI) greenfield data centre and cybersecurity training facility in Jatani, opposition parties and farmers’ groups have stepped up their protests against both the central and state governments.
At a press conference held at Congress Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, senior Congress leader and former minister Panchanan Kanungo alongside party spokesperson Sonali Sahu voiced strong opposition to the project, claiming it threatens local ecology and livelihoods. The opposition party alleged that the proposed data facility requires nearly two crore litres of freshwater daily, a demand that could severely deplete Khordha district’s water tables, disrupt agricultural activities, and risk turning the region into an arid zone.
Congress leaders questioned the state government’s approval of the venture, alleging that neighbouring Andhra Pradesh had previously rejected hosting it, and demanded full disclosure regarding environmental safeguards, projected benefits to Odisha, and a white paper detailing exact regular employment figures guaranteed to local Odia youth.
Escalating the political attack, Congress criticised the broader industrial and mineral extraction policies under the current administration. Kanungo argued that over half of Odisha’s mineral wealth is extracted and shipped outside the state, leaving local communities burdened with acute drinking water crises, heavy pollution, and severe health risks while receiving minimal economic value addition. “Are we here just to have our mines dug up and resources taken away?” he asked, highlighting that under amended regulations like the MMDR Act, states have been stripped of crucial constitutional powers regarding mineral management.
Kanungo criticised the “double-engine” government’s hype over a so-called industrial revolution, noting that essential agro-based industries, such as cold storages, sugarcane mills, and local processing units, have languished or been forced to shut down across various districts. Pointing to defunct sugar mills and shuttered ventures, he argued that the economic policies fail to address the agrarian core of Odisha’s economy.
He challenged the government to release a transparent district-wise list and white paper detailing how many Odia youths have actually secured regular, permanent jobs in newly commissioned factories and industrial units. “When production starts in these industrial units, what percentage of Odia youth are being given jobs?” he questioned, alleging that locals are often reduced to working as low-wage manual labourers or getting sidelined entirely by mechanised operations.
Posing direct questions to state and central leadership ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, the party demanded an immediate re-evaluation of mineral exploitation frameworks, guaranteed job quotas for locals, and urgent revival measures for agricultural sectors.
In tandem with political opposition, farmer bodies have also announced demonstrations during the Prime Minister’s visit. Navnirman Krushak Sangathan founder Akshay Kumar accused the government of driving corporate-led exploitation of natural resources while suppressing dissent. He further cited unresolved nationwide demands for a legal Minimum Support Price (MSP) across 23 crops, unaddressed errors affecting nearly one crore students in state school textbooks, and alleged suppression of democratic rights, including restrictions on critical voices and controversial electoral roll revisions, as key triggers for the planned state-wide protests.
