BHUBANESWAR: With the Odisha Drivers’ Mahasangha’s strike continuing for the third consecutive day on Thursday, bus passengers across the state faced severe problems in commuting.
With the government and the association yet to arrive at a resolution, people could be seen stranded at bus stands in several major cities of the state. Though OSRTC buses were operational, they were few and far between and unable to handle the huge rush of passengers.
Many people complained that since the frequency of private bus trips was much more than OSRTC, they were finding it difficult to travel in government buses as per their preferred timings. “Over 13,000 buses remained off road and the operations were disrupted across the state,” said All Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association president, Loknath Pani. He added that the private bus owners had been sustaining huge losses due to the ongoing strike.
General secretary of Utkal Petroleum Dealers’ Association Sanjay Lath said about 500 oil tankers left from the four depots in Jatni, Paradip, Balasore and Jharsuguda earlier in the day and are expected to deliver petrol and diesel at the fuel stations across the state between Thursday night and Friday morning.
The state government has constituted a dedicated task force for round-the-clock monitoring, prompt resolution of logistical challenges and ensuring the smooth movement of petroleum and other critical goods. The task force comprises officials from the Commerce and Transport department, Odisha Police, district administrations and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra said the state government was making efforts to resolve the issue soon. He asserted that the supply of essential commodities like petrol and diesel remained uninterrupted on the day and there was no shortage in the stock of such items.
“There has been no impact on supply of fuel due to the strike of the drivers. About 150 oil tankers reached Bhubaneswar and 76 in Cuttack on the day. Fuel is available at most of the places in the state,” Patra said. He informed that the government has been continuously holding discussions with the protesting drivers, and hoped the issue will be resolved soon.
“Stringent action will be taken against anyone found involved in black marketing of the essential commodities until the strike is underway,” the minister warned.