Odisha Private Bus Owners To Stage Dharna Before Assembly On Nov 22

Bhubaneswar: As per its decision taken earlier, the Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association will stage a demonstration in front of the Assembly in Bhubaneswar on November 22.

The association members agreed to go ahead with their decision at a meeting held in Cuttack on Monday. At least 100 of them would join the demonstration. The winter session of the Assembly will begin from Tuesday.

“We will sit on a dharna in front of the Assembly on Wednesday and submit a memorandum to the government to press our demands,” said a member of the association.

The association, at its meeting on November 8, had taken the decision on the strike in protest against the state government decision to run buses on certain routes under Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI).

“The bus owners will stage a dharna in front of the Assembly from November 22. If the government fails to address our demands, we will resort to strike from December 1,” association general secretary Debendra Sahoo had said.

The association demanded that the LAccMI buses should operate between gram panchayats and block headquarters and not to district headquarters. Secondly, it sought compensation for those getting affected because of government buses being run between panchayats and blocks by waiving additional tax.

“They are being given Rs 76 per km, we have demanded Rs 50 per km to run the service at Rs 10 for passengers and coupons to give free rides to women. Or else, make the fare same for all buses, allowing a level playing ground for all,” Sahoo said.