Farmers call for Odisha bandh on February 21

Bhubaneswar: Farmers' outfit - Naba Nirman Krushak Sanghathan (NNKS) has called for a state-wide bandh in Odisha on February 21 demanding price, prestige and pension. Addressing a press conference, Convenor of NNKS Akshay Kumar made the announcement today.

"The government is taking away the basic rights from the farmers and which is why we have called for a bandh on February 21. We have urged political parties, industry bodies, intellectuals and people from other walks of life to support the shutdown," Kumar said.

Earlier on February 11, NNKS launched protests at several places across the state protesting government’s callous attitude towards their long-standing demands.

Similarly, on February 6, tension had erupted at different places across the State when thousands of farmers were taken into preventive custody while they were on their way to attend a mega rally organised by NNKS in Bhubaneswar.

The farming community has been demanding a social security allowance of Rs 5000 per month for nearly 36 lakh farmers of the State with an annual budgetary allocation of Rs 21,600 crore.