Bus Services Resume in Odisha As Private Bus Owners Halt Strike Till Oct 31

Bhubaneswar: Commuters in Odisha experienced a challenging day due to a bus strike on October 20, 2023. The private bus owners’ association has now announced the postponement of the strike until October 31, allowing bus services to resume immediately.

The decision was reached during a meeting of the association members at Baramunda. Debendra Sahu, the secretary of the bus association, conveyed the news during a press conference around 9 PM. He mentioned that the strike has been temporarily halted following appeals from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu. The bus owners are now awaiting a written assurance on their demands from the government, which will be provided after a high-level meeting scheduled for October 26.

The bus owners have been opposing the implementation of bus services under the ‘Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative’ (LAccMI) scheme, which aims to extend services from the block level to the district level.