Bhubaneswar: The All Odisha Bus Owner’s Association has urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das to further extend the loan moratorium and waive the interest on loans for bus owners of the state for one year amid the COVID crisis.
In a letter, the association requested RBI governor Das to direct all public and private sector banks to extend the moratorium on EMI payment and waive interest on loans from bus owners.
Secretary of the association Debendra Sahu said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has broken the economic backbone of the bus owners. Currently, only four per cent of buses ply across the state with very few passengers. Ruined by this crisis, we have written a letter to the RBI governor seeking an extension of EMI moratorium and waiver of interest.”
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“We are now at a condition which has forced us to cut the necessary expenditure of our families. Given the situation, it is impossible for us to pay our employees. It is impossible for us to pay both EMIs and interests on the loans. We have also approached the state finance minister in this regard and requested him to look into the issue,” Sahu added.
Notably, COVID-19 restrictions have forced over 14,000 buses in the state to stay off the roads. As many as 56,000 employees are struggling to make ends meet with no other source of income for the past several months ever since lockdown was imposed.
PNN