Overview
- The NNKS-led eight-hour shutdown ran from 6 am to 2 pm with partial disruption, as shops closed in several areas and roads were blocked, while essential services continued and train operations stayed normal.
- Police deployed extra personnel and detained more than 50 people in Bhubaneswar as a preventive measure to keep traffic moving and maintain order.
- Food Supplies Minister K.C. Patra called the action a flop and cited progress in procurement, stating 37.91 lakh tonnes of paddy had been bought and over Rs 8,000 crore paid to farmers.
- The Congress and CPI(M) backed the protest, the BJD offered moral support and scheduled statewide demonstrations from February 2 to 17 with a major rally on February 24, and the BJP dismissed the bandh as a manufactured agitation.
- Protesters demanded Rs 3,100 per quintal at mandis, curbs on middlemen and millers, a rethink on limiting the Rs 800 input assistance to 150 quintals, and relief from smart meter rollouts and high PUCC fines.