Bhubaneswar: Rail and road traffic may be disrupted in Odisha on Thursday as central trade unions, farmer organisations and Left parties have called for a 12-hour Bharat Bandh from 6 am to 6 pm to protest against new labour codes and issues affecting farmers and workers.Banking services, govt offices, educational institutions, markets and other establishments may also be affected during the shutdown. Left parties — CPI, CPM, CPI(ML) Liberation and the All India Forward Bloc — jointly appealed on Wednesday for public support to make the bandh “completely successful.”
The call is part of a nationwide general strike and hartal announced by a joint platform of major central trade unions, including INTUC, AITUC, CITU and AICCTU, along with independent federations, with a 12-point charter of demands.CPM state secretary Suresh Chandra Panigrahy said the govt should repeal the four labour codes, withdraw the VB-GramG Act-2025 and restore provisions of the MGNREGA Act. He also demanded worker status for scheme workers such as anganwadi workers, ASHAs, mid-day meal cooks, Udyan Sathi, gram panchayat employees and Jeevika Mission workers.Mahendra Parida, coordinator of the united forum of trade unions in Odisha, said the govt should repeal the Shram Shakti Policy-2025, stop disinvestment and privatisation of public sector enterprises, withdraw what he described as anti-farmer agriculture laws, and enact a central law to provide minimum support price for agricultural produce in line with assurances made in Parliament. He also cited price rise as a key issue.Parida said picketing would be held at busy locations and outside key govt offices. He added that rail roko and hartal programmes would be organised at different places across the state. In Bhubaneswar, a procession is scheduled at 12.45 pm from Raj Mahal Square to Lower PMG to protest the labour codes. Organisers said essential services such as patient care, ambulance services, fire services and water supply would be exempted.
