Pvt bus owners call off proposed strike

Bhubaneswar: The Private Bus Owners’ Associations in Southern and Western Odisha on Monday called off their proposed 24-hour strike following assurances from Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena.The associations decided to call off their strike after a meeting with Jena at his residence in Golanthara in Ganjam district on Monday.

Speaking to mediapersons, Jena said, “Discussions were held on different issues in today’s meeting. The government is also concerned about the introduction of a new look, logo and operations of LAccMI bus services. We arrived at a conclusion after meeting with associations of Southern and Western Odisha. I hope that they will call off their proposed strike.”

The members of the Private Bus Owners’ Associations expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the meeting with the Transport Minister and called off their proposed strike after getting assurances.The president of the Sambalpur Bus Owners’ Association, Pradeep Kumar Pradhan, said the minister has ordered for withholding of the permits issued for tier-II bus services under the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme.

Pradhan further said the Minister has assured them that the officials of Regional Transport Offices will issue permits for the tier-II LAccMI bus services only after holding discussions with the local bus owners.Notably, the Private Bus Owners’ Associations had earlier announced that bus services in 14 districts across the Western and Southern parts of Odisha will remain suspended for 24 hours from 6 pm on Monday.

The associations of Southern and Western Odisha have been protesting against the State government’s decision regarding the introduction of bus services from block to district headquarters under tier II of the LAccMI scheme.As per reports, the private bus owners have no problems with tier-I (block connectivity) or tier-III (Intercity Connectivity) bus services under the flagship LAccMI scheme.

However, the bus owners fear that the introduction of tier-II bus services under the scheme will cause huge losses to them.It is pertinent here to mention that the flagship LAccMI scheme of the State government aims to provide a seamless and affordable public transport network in rural areas across Odisha.