Bus owners threaten strike from June 5 in Odisha

All Odisha Private Bus Owners' Association today threatened to go on an indefinite strike from June 5 if their demands including a mechanism of an automatic fare adjustment as soon as the price of fuel changes.
The transport body issued the threat following price hike in both petrol and diesel last night. While the price of Petrol has gone up by Rs 3.13 a litre and a litre of diesel will cost more by Rs 2.71.
The association said that this is the second straight steep increase in the rates within a fortnight. The Centre on May 1 had hiked Rs 3.96 per litre of petrol and Rs 2.37 a litre of diesel.

Though the association has been demanding provision of an automatic price adjustment mechanism, the state government has taken no step in this regard, they said.
In October last year, the state government had said that it was waiting for the technical committee's report to take a decision on the quantum of downward revision of bus fares in the state.
"The government should fix a certain paise rise/fall per kilometre for every rise/fall in fuel prices, which would make it easier for change in bus fares from the next day of rise/fall of diesel prices," a member of the association said.

Above 13,000 private buses and 450 state bus ply on the roads every day.
A decision on a mechanism for automatic hike and cut in bus fares whenever there is a hike or cut in fuel prices, the major demand of the Association, would be taken soon, Commerce and Transport minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi said after the meeting with association members.