Odisha govt appeals to private bus operators to withdraw strike call

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, July 30:

Odisha Transport minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi today appealed to private bus operators in the state to withdraw their call for a statewide strike from August 9.

The minister informed that a decision on the quantum of hike in bus fares will be taken very soon.

The Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association has decided to stop their bus services in the state from August 9.

The Association, in a release on Tuesday, apprised the state government of its decision in this regard.

“The Association has warned the government of statewide stir if it fails to meet its demands by August 8. Nearly 14,000 private buses would stay off the road during agitation”, the general secretary of the Association Debendra Kumar Sahu said.

The decision of the Association came after the state government failed to respond to its demand to revise bus fares following frequent hikes in the price of diesel.

Sahu said the Transport minister and officials of the concerned department had assured them that they would look into their demands and also forwarded their proposal to the technical committee.

“Though the proposal has been sent to the technical committee since July 17, no decision has been taken as yet”, he said.

A delegation of the Association, led by its president Prakash Mishra and office-bearers Loknath Pani and Barada Acharya had submitted a memorandum to the secretary, Transport and Commerce after the association’s general body meeting yesterday.