Odisha Motor Transport Workers’ Federation Calls Off Strike After Talks With Govt

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Motor Transport Workers’ Federation called off their strike against the new hit and run law on Monday following talks with the state government.

This was stated by Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena after a meeting between senior officials of the state government and representatives of the federation at the Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.

The federation had called for an indefinite strike protesting the new provision made in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) which mandates 10-year imprisonment of the drivers and a fine of Rs seven lakh in hit-and-run cases.

Apart from the Chief Secretary, Commerce and Transport department and Principal Secretary Usha Padhi, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Soumendra Priyadarshi, and Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh were present at the meeting and appealed to the federation leaders to withdraw their strike.

Chief Secretary Jena said that the federation leaders were told about a recent statement made by the Union Home Secretary that wide consultation would be held before notification of the new measure. The federation was requested to withdraw their strike to avoid any inconvenience to the public.

The federation was represented by the President of the All-Odisha Transport Workers Association Janardan Pati, leader Ullash Swain, and others.

Responding to the government’s appeal, the federation has stated that the strike has been called off with immediate effect. Both, Chief Secretary and Pati requested the transport workers to withdraw their strike and maintain normal operations.