BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Tuesday gave a six-hour Odisha bandh call on February 15 against a host of issues including the rising fuel prices. Announcing the party’s decision, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said the bandh will be observed from 7 am to 1 pm and called upon people of the State to make it a success. Emergency services including ambulance, vehicles carrying milk, media and examinees will be exempted from the purview of the bandh, he said.
Patnaik said the bandh call will also be against the rising unemployment among the youths, growing crime against women, State government’s failure to check cases of missing children, anti-farmer policies, increase in political violence and failure of the government to protect its territory.
Alleging that fuel prices are increasing daily even though the international crude oil price is at its lowest now, Patnaik said that a consumer now gives tax of Rs 50 per litre of petrol. He criticised the government for ignoring his proposal to bring down the price of petrol and diesel by reducing the State’s share of tax by Rs 10 per litre.
Patnaik also criticised the government’s silence over the issue of Andhra Pradesh government preparing to hold panchayat polls in disputed villages on the border areas of Koraput, Gajapati and Rayagada districts. Besides, Congress will also take up the issue of lack of any action by the State government over the issue of construction of barrages by the Chhattisgarh government on the upper catchment of Mahanadi river.
Though the tenure of the Mahanadi River Water Disputes Tribunal is going to be over in March, State government has failed to protect the interest of Odisha in the issue, he said.