Daijiworld Media Network - Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar, Oct 8: The INDIA bloc parties have called a 12-hour statewide bandh in Odisha on Thursday to protest alleged errors in school textbooks, the new mining law and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, besides demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The bandh is expected to affect transport services and commercial activities across the state. Some private educational institutions and colleges have been advised to conduct online classes. However, the state government has not issued any specific order directing schools to remain closed.
Essential services, including hospitals, ambulances, fire services, medicine shops and milk supply, will remain exempt from the bandh.
The Congress has appealed to people to participate in the bandh, saying it is aimed at protecting democracy. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), however, has decided not to participate in the shutdown.
BJD media coordinator Lenin Mohanty said the party would remain equidistant from the Congress-led opposition alliance and the BJP-led government while continuing to raise issues concerning the people of Odisha.
Odisha government officials have directed district collectors and superintendents of police to take necessary measures to maintain law and order during the bandh. Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Suresh Devdutt Singh said extensive security arrangements have been made to ensure that the protests remain peaceful.
Around 150 police officers will be deployed in the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissionerate area, Singh said, while appealing to political parties to exercise their democratic rights within constitutional limits.
Meanwhile, Congress workers stopped the Sambalpur-Puri train at Sambalpur Railway Station as part of the agitation.
The BJD said it would continue opposing policies of the BJP government, including the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, and alleged errors in school textbooks. However, the party reiterated that it was neither supporting nor opposing Thursday's bandh.