TNI Bureau: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has announced its support for the eight-hour Odisha bandh called by the Navnirman Krushak Sangathan on January 28, from 6 am to 2 pm. OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das confirmed the party’s decision.

The bandh has been called over several public issues, including irregularities in paddy procurement across the state, excessive fines in the name of vehicle pollution certificates, arbitrary electricity tariffs by the government, OERC and Tata Power, and the alleged dilution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Das said the Congress has been consistently agitating on these issues and, in this context, has decided to support the farmers’ organisation’s call. The OPCC has directed all district Congress committees to extend support to the bandh, according to a statement from the party’s media department.