Toll dispute: Bus services on Puri route disrupted

Pipli (Puri): Private bus services on the Bhubaneswar-Puri route remained suspended for quite some time this morning in protest against the insistence of the personnel at the Pipili gate on collecting the increased toll despite the state government's decision on May 31 to put the decision on hold till the dispute with the bus operators' association was resolved.

Scores of buses remained stranded at the gate for hours before police intervened in the matter and restored normal plying of buses.

Notably, the Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association had threatened to stop plying of buses passing through all eight toll gates set up by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the state from June 1 in protest against the hike. The Association had also claimed that five of the eight toll gates had been set up in violation of NHAI guidelines.

Following the Association's threat, the Commerce and Transport department had asked the toll gate authorities to put collection of the hiked toll on hold till the matter is sorted out.

The NHAI Director is arriving here tomorrow to discuss the issue with officials of the state government and find a solution.