Odisha’s Home Department has put the entire state on alert after farmer and student organisations announced a 12-hour statewide bandh on Wednesday, Sept 30.
In a circular dated Sept 29, Joint Secretary Sarat Chandra Marandi directed all Collectors and District Magistrates to stay prepared for possible road blockades, traffic disruption and tyre burning from 6 am to 6 pm. The letter says Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) and Naba Nirman Yuva Chhatra Sangathan have called the general strike “over various demands.”
Officials were also told that several opposition parties, including the BJD, Congress and Left groups, have expressed support.
The main trigger is a row over government school textbooks. Campaigners say newly printed books for primary and middle classes contain more than 1,600 factual and printing errors. They want the books withdrawn and School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond to resign. The government has begun issuing correction supplements, but protest organisers say that is not enough.
District administrations have been asked to take preventive security steps, keep government offices open and ensure essential services such as hospitals, ambulances, fire services and pharmacies are not disrupted. Examinations scheduled by the Board of Secondary Education are expected to go ahead as planned.
A second, separate Odisha bandh has already been announced by the INDIA bloc for October 8, mainly against the MMDR Amendment Act. For Wednesday, the immediate test will be how widely shops, markets and public transport shut down—and how firmly the administration keeps roads and emergency services moving.
