Baragrh: Passenger bus service to various destinations from here came to a halt due to a strike by private bus owners protesting the shifting of the local bus stand Monday.
Commuters had a harrowing time as a result of the strike. The bus owners led by president of their association Bhishmadev Dora, general secretary Sk Nizammudin and adviser Debabrata Mishra staged a dharna outside the collectorate.
Many passengers who reached the local bus stand to catch a bus to far-off places were disappointed after they learnt about the strike. Apprehending deterioration in law and order, the district administration deployed police personnel outside the collectorate.
Sources said the construction work of a new bus stand near the old one has been completed and is slated for inauguration soon. However, the members of the bus owners’ association apprehending more traffic problem and congestion in the new bus stand are protesting the shifting of the bus stand. They submitted a memorandum to Collector Indramani Tripathy demanding a solution to their problem.
Earlier, the Bargarh civic body in a letter to the association had assured the bus owners having more than four buses of an office room in the new bus stand premises but with riders. The conditional assurance by the Bargarh Municipality on providing office rooms evoked sharp reactions among the bus owners. They met the Collector November 1, and submitted a memorandum to him warning of a strike from Wednesday.
PNN