Puri bus strike called off till Rath Yatra

Puri: The Bus Owners' Association has called off its strike for routes between Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri after discussion with Puri administration. The association went on a strike on Tuesday after three buses were torched by irate locals in Pipili over an accident. Meanwhile, police has registered cases against four persons in connection with the bus torching.

Puri collector Arvind Agarwal met the bus owners at the Puri Circuit House on Tuesday evening. It was decided during the discussion that the bus services will continue till Rath Yatra to ensure visitors to the pilgrim town during Deba Snan Purnima and the chariot festival do not face difficulties.

"We will continue to run the bus services till Rath Yatra. Administration has assured to ensure bus and passengers safety and to arrest the culprits who torched the three buses. We will observe the action taken by administration and decide if what action we will take after Rath Yatra," said Debendra Sahu, general secretary, Odisha Private Bus Owners' Association.

Earlier, the bus owners had decided to stall bus services when irate locals torched three buses on NH-203 after a speeding bus ‘Sarala’, running from Puri to Bhubaneswar, had run over one Hadu Khan and his wife near Hata Chhak in Pipili yesterday, killing them on the spot.