Private bus owners call off strike in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Office goers, school and college students faced severe inconveniences as over 17,000 private buses went off the road across Odisha on Wednesday. A strike call given by the All

Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association

that continued for around 12 hours left thousands of commuters stranded in the scorching sun. The bus owners called off the strike in the evening after the state government agreed to form a committee to look into the demand of separate routes for city buses and private buses.

Some plus two and degree students had to face difficulties in reaching their examination centres due to the

bus strike

.

“We had to book a private vehicle to reach our examination centre around 25 kms away from our village due to the bus strike. We had to spend a lot extra for this,” said Sarita Sahu, a plus two student of

Gajapati

district.

In urban centres auto-rickshaws and cab services arbitrarily raised their prices while commuters in rural areas left high and dry as they did not find alternative means of transport.

“I did not aware of the bus strike and I came from Visakhapatnam by train. After reaching Bhubaneswar in the morning I came to know about it. I am stranded with the family at the station for hours now as cabs are charging high rates and ready to fleece,” said Santosh Biswal, a native of Dasapalla in Nayagarh district.

“I had planned to go to Bhubaneswar to work on my pension papers. But due to bus strike I could not come,” said Rajib Lochan Sahu, a retired government officer of Jaraka in Jajpur district.

The bus owners’ association had given an indefinite strike call from March 14 on an 11-charter demand including separate routes for city buses, revision of motor vehicle tax, and reduction of toll fees. On Tuesday the state government agreed on 10 of the 11 demands of the association, but discussion on separate routes for city buses remained inconclusive.

“The state government formed a committee which will find a solution to the problem of city buses and private buses running in the same route. The committee will submit its report within three months. Keeping in view the inconvenience of commuters we called off the strike,” said Debasis Nayak, spokesperson of the association.

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