Bhubaneswar: Private bus owners’ associations of western and southern Odisha have called off their proposed strike after discussions with Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena on Monday.
In view of the strike threat by the private bus owners, the minister convened a meeting with the bus owners’ associations at Berhampur to discuss their demands.
The bus owners’ associations earlier called for a 24-hour bus token strike in 14 districts of north and west Odisha in protest against the Odisha government’s decision to introduce tier-II buses under the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme.
According to the bus owners’ association, they supported the launch of tier-I LAccMI buses connecting blocks to panchayats but opposed the introduction of tier-II buses, which would operate between blocks and district headquarters as it would cause heavy financial losses for them.