Bhubaneswar: Bus services in western and southern Odisha are likely to remain suspended for 24 hours from 6 PM on October 7 as bus owners' associations have called for a strike in the region. The bandh has been called against the Odisha government's decision to introduce tier-II buses under the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme.

During a general body meeting, the bus owners expressed dissatisfaction with the state government's lack of response to their demands. As a result, 24 bus owners' associations across 13 districts have called for the bandh.

The associations may extend the bandh to an indefinite period if the demands are not met.

A bus owner explained that while they supported the launch of tier-I LAccMI buses connecting blocks to panchayats, they are opposing the introduction of tier-II buses, which would operate between blocks and district headquarters, causing financial losses for private bus operators.