LAccMI Tier-II buses launch: Bus owners threaten indefinite bandh on Oct 8

Opposing the launch of Tier-II buses under the Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme, the Private Bus Owners Association has once again warned of an indefinite strike from October 8.

They warned the government to reconsider the decision on or before October 7 (6 pm) and warned to go off roads across Odisha from October 8, coinciding with the commencement of the Durga Puja festivities.

“We had agreed on Tier-1 LAccMI buses after much discussion. But, the previous government had unofficially promised to keep Tier-2 on halt. The government has changed but they are also planning to ply Tier-2 LAccMI buses. They have already released the notification. So, we have decided to hit the streets,” informed Nari Mohanty, President of the Bus Owners’ Association, Jeypore.

“We are giving time till October 7 to the government to reconsider their decision. If the government fails to take any decision on or before 6:00 pm on October 7, no one can stop from resorting to strike,” he added.

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Similarly, Chagala Paricha, President of the Bolangir Bus Owners’ Association said, “We will hit the streets after October 7. This will be our way of telling the government to listen to us. If they pay no heed, we will call for an indefinite strike in the days to come.”

LAccMI Buses in Odisha

Worth mentioning, the LAccMI buses were launched by the previous BJD government in phases across Odisha connecting the Gram Panchayat with Block Headquarters and District Headquarters. 

In the first phase, the then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the LAccMI buses from Malkangiri district in October 2023.

Meanwhile, the Mohan Majhi government has also approved the LAccMI bus scheme to continue which aims at promoting sustainable and economical transport and creating a continuous public transportation network in inaccessible gram panchayats.