Bhubaneswar, Feb 9 (TIWN) The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee on Tuesday announced a statewide shutdown on February 15 to protest against the rising prices of petrol and diesel in the state.

“We know that the decision will inconvenience the people. But we have been forced to observe the shutdown to create awareness among people about various issues, including record hike in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas,” said Patnaik.  He said that both the Centre and state government are imposing unreasonable taxes on fuel, leading to steep hikes in fuel prices that in turn will result in increase in the prices of essential commodities.