Bhubaneswar, Oct 26: Discussion between the Odisha government and Private Bus Owners’ Association on Friday ended with no conclusion.
Following the meeting, convened by the Department of Transport, the decision for the statewide bus strike, called by the Private Bus Owners Association on October 10 also remained unresolved.
Source said that the Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association had resorted to stop plying buses on October 20 over implementation of LAccMi Scheme in the rural Odisha, by the state government.
Acting on commuters’ inconvenience, the state Transport Department held a discussion with the representatives of the Bus Owners’ Association. Following positive outcomes in the meeting, the association put the bus strike on hold till 31 Oct.
The second meeting was held in the Kharavela Bhawan on Friday wherein Odisha Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu discussed with the bus owners. Meanwhile, a resolution was passed here to look into the charter of demands, laid down before the government, by the bus owners.
Responding to the media persons, Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu said, today’s discussion with the forum came up with a positive outcome. The government is here to remain cooperative for the bus owners.
However she said the LAccMI scheme is one of the dream projects of CM Naveen Patnaik to bridge the unreachable pockets of the Malkangiri and Nabarangpur district with the other parts of the state. The project will continue for welfare of the state.
On the other hand, Devendra Sahoo, Secretary of Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association while interacted with the press personnel said, “We have never withdrawn our decision on the statewide bus strike. We had put in on hold till October 31 with the positive outlook of the government.”
Further roadmap will be decided in the Association's General Council meeting scheduled on October 30, after the resloution copy is made public, Sahoo added.
