400 buses off the road protesting police action

Alleging unlawful detention of staff of two buses by the police, private bus operators in Maoist-prone Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts of Odisha resorted to an indefinite strike and kept their vehicles off the roads today.
"We will not ply the buses unless the police release the staff of two private buses who have been unlawfully detained in Malkangiri police station", president of Private Bus Owners' Federation, Jeypore, Durga Tripathy said.
Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said the staff of two buses had been detained yesterday as migrant child labourers were allegedly being sent in one vehicle and there were no proper documents with the other.

The Mahasangha should not harden its stance and cooperate with the Police for restoration of service, Singh said.
Due to the strike, over 400 buses remained off the roads in the three districts causing inconvenience to commuters where Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 10.