Odisha Private Bus Owners Call Strike From October 20 Again

Bhubaneswar: A week after calling off their proposed strike, the private bus owners in Odisha has again decided to stop plying their vehicles from October 20 in protest against the state government’s LAccMI scheme.

Speaking to media persons in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, Barda Acharya Mohanty, treasurer of the All Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association said the Chief Minister had promised that no bus under Location-Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI) will run from block to district headquarters in the last meeting with the association representatives.

“It was decided that the buses under the scheme will ply between panchayats to the blocks. But two days ago, the Chief Minister launched the LAccMI scheme and has also reduced the fares. As it would affect the private bus owners, we have decided to resort to strike from October 20,” said Mohanty.

The private bus owners had put their indefinite strike on hold after talks with the government. The private bus owners had requested the government to include their buses under the scheme. The government has procured 1600 buses for this purpose.

Also Read: Odisha Bus Owners Put On Hold Proposed State-Wide Strike After Talks With Govt