Over Rs 1 lakh challans issued against pvt buses in Odisha in a day; association slams govt's 'vindictiveness'

The All Odisha Private Bus Owners' Association has alleged that the state government has adopted a vindictive attitude towards it for holding strikes in the state against the location-accessible multimodal initiative (LAccMI) bus service.

The association brought the allegations after surprise checks were reportedly conducted on private buses and e-challans worth lakhs of rupees were issued on Friday. 

As per the allegations of the association, e-challans have been issued to around 1,500 buses over alleged violations of various rules in a single day. The members of the Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association have expressed their disappointment over the alleged vindictiveness of the government. 

“We have only one demand that we (private buses) will operate from block to district and the Mo Mus should operate only in town areas. After we staged a protest in front of the Odisha Assembly, suddenly e-challans were issued to our buses citing various violations. The Odisha government is thinking that it will suppress our voice by taking such actions,” said Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association Secretary Debendra Sahoo.

"However, we are not scared of this kind of action, rather it will unite. We will keep raising our voice in the coming days and we request the Odisha government not to take such vengeful action," Sahoo added.  

It is to be noted that on November 22, the All Odisha Bus Owners’ Association had staged a massive demonstration in Bhubaneswar against the launch of location accessible multimodal initiative (LAccMI) bus service in the state. The government launched the LAccMI bus service in some districts of southern Odisha in October.

This had enraged the private bus owners association, which strongly opposed it. At the time of Dussehra, the private bus owners had even resorted to strike, but later called off it following assurance from the transport minister.