IN response to the call of Bharat  Bandh on  December 8 by the farmers' organisations demanding the withdrawal of  the three  anti-farmer Agri-Laws enacted by BJP government at the centre, since 6 am, normal life came to standstill all over the state in Odisha. Road, rail and air transport services were stopped. Shops, business establishments, financial institutions could not open the shutters. Spontaneity was marked since morning itself.

From southernmost adivasi district like Makangiri to northernmost Mayurbhanj, from tribal-dominated  Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kalahandi industrial towns like Rourkela, Anugul, Jharsuguda, Kalinga Nagar, bandh was total. Also from coastal areas like Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda etc., normal life was completely disrupted due to Bharat Bandh.

The wrath of the people against the BJP government was quite visible in all the 30 districts of the state. The steep rise in prices of essential commodities and hike in prices of diesel and petrol added to the anger of the people.

On December 7, cycle and motorbike rallies, torchlight, processions were held in all the districts. Left parties like CPI(M), CPI, CPI-ML(Liberation) and AIFB in a joint statement extended support to the bandh call and subsequently eight political parties- Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Da, Nationalist Congress Party along with Left parties jointly announced their support in the press conference.

AIKS and AIKSSC organised a number of programmes in many parts of the state independently and jointly with central trade unions like CITU, AITUC, INTUC, UTUC, HMS etc. Except for BJP and the ruling BJD all other political parties, forces and groups not only supported the Bandh but also joined with their rank and file.

BJD, the ruling party of the state looking to the mood of the people and spontaneity declared to close down all the state government establishments and postponed the scheduled examinations. In fact, BJD is behaving like an undeclared ally of BJP and supporting all the anti-people measures BJP Govt at the centre. In Lok Sabha, BJD members supported for passage of all the three anti-farmer Agri Laws. It had also supported for creation of four labour codes scrapping 29 labour laws.

Though state government offices were declared closed, volunteers of Left and other parties squatted before the central government establishments throughout the state.

At Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Odisha, RBI, AG, Eco railway, income tax, SBI, postal and telecom, NALCO, IOCL  etc.,   could not open their offices, though their employees were asked to join duties on time. National highways and state highways did not see plying of vehicles till evening. The rails were also not operational.

On the day of the bandh a central procession marched  in Bhubaneswar with Ali Kishor Patnaik, secretary CPI(M) Odisha state committee, state secretariat members- Janardan Pati, Jaganath Mishra, Dusmanta Das, Suresh Panigrahi, Puspa Das, state committee members- Tapasi Praharaj, Sala Marandi and hundreds of party and mass front leaders  along with the leaders of  kisan sabha, Odisha Adivasi Adhikar Manch, AIDWA, DYFI and  central trade unions like CITU, AITUC, INTUC, HMS, UTUC etc.

The fighting spirit and spontaneous response of the people were not seen in recent past in the state of Odisha as was witnessed on December 8 Bharat Bandh.