BHUBANESWAR: With the agitation and vandalism continuing against Reliance Fresh in Orissa, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch on October 10 threatened a statewide agitation against the Reliance Fresh and urged the state government to immediately scrape all understanding with the company over the issue of foreign direct investment on retail trade. ?We have planned a 15-day-long statewide protest against the Reliance Fresh,? SJM state organising secretary Annada Shankar Panigrahi said adding that the life of some seven lakh small-time traders and vendors would lose their livelihood if the government allowed the company to spread its network in the state. It may be noted here that the company plans to open 235 Reliance Fresh outlets in the state, including 11 in Bhubaneshwar and nine in Cuttack, as part of its Rs 3,000-crore roll-out plan in the state. While due to continuing protest from the vendors of the city, Reliance had to close its outlets on several occasion. Similarly, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh state organising secretary Muktikant Satpathy demanded that the Reliance Company should immediately leave the state and urged the state government not to allow the company to open its outlets. Sangh will mobilise public opinion over the issue and is backing the present protests of the vendors and traders of the city against Reliance Fresh.
