Bhubaneswar: Bus services between Bhubaneswar and Puri, which were suspended over the torching of three private buses at Pipili, resumed on Wednesday following talks between the members of Bhubaneswar Bus Owners’ Association and Puri collector Aravind Agrawal the previous evening.
“We called off the strike after the collector assured to fulfil our demands, including compensation for bus operators whose vehicles were torched by locals at Pipili, waving off the equated monthly installments of the damaged and immediate arrest of those responsible for the incident. A decision to withdraw the strike was also taken in view of the ensuing Snana yatra and Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath,” a member of Bhubaneswar Bus Owners’ Association said.
The association had discontinued bus services to Puri, Konark, Nimapara and Astaranga from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack after an irate mob set three buses on fire after an elderly couple was killed in an accident involving one of the vehicles.