Odisha: Private Bus Owners’ Association Warns of a 24-Hr Bandh on Monday

�Bhubaneswar,: The Private Bus Owners' Association in western and southern Odisha on Sunday warned of a 24-hour bandh from 6 pm on Monday to protest against the state government’s plan to launch tier-II buses under the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme that aims to provide seamless public transport network in rural areas.

In its general body meeting, the association alleged that they had not received any positive response from the state government regarding their demands. So, 24 bus owners’ associations in 13 districts have called for the bandh from 6 pm in the evening on Monday.

The bandh will be observed for 24 hours and if needed the associations will launch an indefinite strike seeking fulfillment of their demands, sources said.

“We had agreed to the government’s proposal and welcomed tier-I LAccMI bus services from blocks to panchayats. However, we have been against the government’s plan to allow the services from blocks to district headquarters because all the bus owners will have to bear losses. All Odisha Bus Owners’ Association had also intimated our decision to the state government. However, now we have learnt that they are planning to launch tier-II LAccMI buses that will ply from blocks to districts,” informed a bus owner.

“They have already started the services in a couple of districts. If a micro analysis is done about the past one year, the private bus owners are incurring losses due to the government’s scheme,” he added.

Similarly, another owner said, “During the launch of the tier-I scheme, the government had assured us that the services wouldn’t affect us. However, now they are planning to launch tier-II buses that will create problems for us.”