BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Friday demanded immediate steps to control the rising prices of essential commodities.
BJD media coordinator Lenin Mohanty said, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Odisha’s retail inflation reached 7.17 per cent in October 2026, significantly higher than the national average of 6.09 per cent.
Pointing out that inflation in rural areas stood at 7.74 per cent against 5.63 per cent in urban areas, Mohanty said rural households in the state were disproportionately affected. He said onion prices had increased by approximately 116 per cent, garlic by 61 per cent and lemons by 47 per cent. At the national level, food inflation rose to 8.94 per cent in October from 7.74 per cent in September, he added. He demanded that assistance be provided to people in rural areas. Congress leaders Panchanan Kanungo and Rajani Kumar Mohanty alleged that the government had failed to control prices and provide relief to the common people. Stating that rising prices had affected poor and middle-class families, they demanded immediate intervention by the government to check inflation.
