Bhubaneswar: In view of COVID-19 crisis, the All Odisha Bus Owners’ Association on Monday requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to defer EMIs and waive off interest for bus owners in the State for one year.
In a letter, the association requested RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to ask all the banks in the State to defer loan installments and waive interest from the bus owners.
“The COVID-19 restrictions have adversely affected the bus owners in the State. Of the total buses, only four percent of them are plying, mostly with very less passengers. Marred by such crisis, we have written a letter to RBI Governor requesting him to exempt us from paying EMIs and interest on loans,” said association secretary Debendra Sahu.
“The bus owners are failing to pay salary to their employees. We have also approached State Finance minister in this regard and requested him to look into the matter,” Sahu added.
COVID-19 restrictions have forced over 14,000 buses in the State to stay off roads. As many as 56,000 employees are struggling to meet the expenses with no source of income for the past several months.
Notably, the association decided to resume bus services from May 28 after the State Government considered their demand to waive off motor vehicle tax for three months.
Initially, the association decided to run around 4,000 to 5,000 buses of the total 14,000 buses following all COVID-19 guidelines. However, with most people reluctant to travel due to pandemic fear, bus services still continue to be completely out of gear across the State.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
Also Read:
COVID-19 Restrictions Leave Odisha Brass Artisans High And Dry
Not Feasible To Operate With 50% Seat Occupancy: Odisha Bus Owners