Bhubaneswar: Traders in the state Wednesday said their estimated loss following the statewide shutdown called by opposition parties BJP and Congress, seeking justice for the Kunduli gang-rape victim who committed suicide, would be around Rs 1,500 crore.
“In a bid to avoid any law and order situation, the traders in key markets have suo moto pulled down shutters. The loss due to the shutdown called by the opposition parties is estimated to be around Rs 1,500 crore,” Sudhakar Panda, secretary, Odisha Baybasayai Mahasangha, told Orissa POST.
The state would have lost around 25 crore in fuel revenue, while each big retail marts would have lost nearly Rs 30 lakh Wednesday, sources said.
“Both BJP and Congress are politicising the issue. The state government has taken all possible steps to help the victim and it has also ordered a probe into the incident,” Samir Das, spokesperson of the ruling Biju Janata Dal, pointed out.
The shutdown also affected the daily life of labourers and daily wage earners who have failed to reach their job sites.
Petrol and diesel were sold for Rs 100 per litre at several places in the Capital city Wednesday, sources said.
“The state has suffered a loss of Rs 25 crore in petrol and diesel revenues while the loss in the Capital city was estimated to be around Rs 2.5 crore,” Sanjay Lath pointed out.
A State Bank of India official said the bank had tried to open its branches but poor attendance adversely affected operations.
“Due to digitisation and ATMs, banking transactions were not affected, but the transactions which had to be done manually were affected,” a senior bank official said.
The shutdown also hurt coal production at Talcher Coalfields of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL). The coal production loss is estimated at 120,000 tonnes.
However, Paradip port operations remained normal with no impact on loading and unloading, sources added. (PNN)