No Inter-State Bus Service In Odisha Till March 31

Cuttack: The All Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association on Sunday announced suspension of the inter-state bus service till March 31.

Secretary of the Association Debendra Sahu said the decision was taken in view of the weeklong lockdown declared by the Odisha government as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus outbreak.

It coincided with the Centre’s decision to extend the restrictions on the movement of non-essential passenger transport including inter-state transport buses till March 31.

“The State Governments were advised to issue appropriate orders to allow only essential services to operate in the 75 districts which have reported confirmed cases or casualties relating to COVID 19. The state governments may expand the list depending on their assessment of the situation,” a press release said.

Earlier the Indian Railways had suspended passenger services by effectively stopping around 12,500 trains.

Coronavirus has so far claimed six lives in India with over 300 confirmed cases.

In a letter to all Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) later in the day, Transport Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda has directed them to ensure that no inter-state buses coming from other states will be allowed to reach their destinations in Odisha and no inter-state bus will be allowed to operate in other states from Odisha after 11 am on Monday (March 23).

The inter-state bus operation to and from Odisha will remain suspended till further orders, the letter stated.