Odisha Private Bus Owners Postpone Proposed Strike From July 1

Bhubaneswar: A day after meeting Commerce, Transport and Water Resources Minister Tukuni Sahu, the All Odisha Private Bus Owners Association has postponed its proposed statewide strike from July 1.

The Association took the decision to postpone the strike at its executive committee meeting on Monday. The decision was taken considering the Rath Yatra on July 1 and the minister’s appeal to cooperate with the state government for convenience of the devotees.

According to sources, the Association decided to wait till July 31 for the government to take steps on their 9-point charter of demands. If the government fails to address their problems, all private buses will go off the road from August 1, said a member of the Association.

During their meeting on Sunday, the minister had urged them to reconsider their decision on the strike in view of passenger’s convenience during Rath Yatra in Puri as it would affect their transportation.

The private bus owners have been demanding the government to withdraw its decision to hand over the process of issuing bus permits to third party. Their other demands include sanction of permanent route permit to the private buses and withdrawal of the decision on high security registration number.

Earlier, they had announced to ply 100 special buses during Rath Yatra in Puri.