Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of drivers under the aegis of Odisha Driver Mahasangha are taking out a massive rally in the capital city as the government is yet to fulfill their demands.
Mahasangha’s Secretary Chaitanya Pradhan informed that they had carried out a padayatra from various districts to Bhubaneswar on October 21 over a 10-point charter of demands.
Even after giving assurance to fulfill their demands, the government kept stalling it on the pretext of election and other reasons. In view of this, the Mahasangha decided to take to the street again.
Their demands include enacting a special law for the protection of drivers, construction of restrooms every 100 kilometres on National & State Highways, and pension for drivers after attaining the age of 55.
Pradhan said that the Government had earlier considered their demands of providing compensation to drivers in the case of accidental death or disability. The government had agreed to provide Rs 4 lakh in case of death and Rs 2 lakh in case of disability.
Other demands include health insurance of Rs 5 lakh, fixed salary, higher education facility for children, housing facilities, etc.
Due to the rally taken out by the Mahasangha today, MoBus service has been disrupted across several routes in Bhubaneswar.