Private bus owners to go on strike if Odisha govt..

Bhubaneswar: The private bus owners’ association has threatened to launch an agitation in 10 districts of Odisha if the state government goes ahead with its plan for launching bus services from block headquarters to district headquarters in Kalahandi under the LAccMI scheme on November 1.

“We are once again urging the state government not to launch bus services from block headquarters to district headquarters under the LAccMI scheme. The Private Bus Owners’ Association will be forced to go on a strike for 24 hours in 10 districts on November 1 if the state government launches bus services from block headquarters to district headquarters in Kalahandi,” said the association in a statement today.

The association has also decided not to provide buses on hire to transport people to the meetings and other programmes of political parties in the state.

“The association will decide its future course of action in a meeting scheduled to be held on November 8,” said an office bearer of the association.

Notably, the private bus owners had launched an indefinite strike on October 20 to oppose the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) of the state government.

As many as 14,000 private buses went off the road due to the statewide agitation causing immense inconvenience for people during the festive season.

The association later put its agitation on hold till October 31 after a meeting with the Transport Minister.