Bhubaneswar: Odisha Drivers’ Mahasangha begans boycott steering protest across the state to press for 10-point charter of demands.
Bus services have been affected at Cuttack Badambadi bus stand due to protest. Besides, many buses and commuters were also left stranded.
Traffic in the capital city Bhubaneswar and several other parts of Odisha was scant on Wednesday morning as many private public transport vehicles remained off the roads in support of the all-Odisha indefinite strike call given by the Driver Ekata Mahamancha from today.
Most private buses and autorickshaws remained off the road on Wednesday causing problems for matric examinees and people commuting to work. However, the strike call failed to affect the movement of trucks on the state and national highways.
Many agitators were seen staging demonstrations at Tomando in Bhubaneswar, Gopalpur Chhak in Cuttack, Soro in Balasore, Ainthapally in Sambalpur and several other places across the state. However, the demonstrations were peaceful as no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state.
Meanwhile, Transport minister Tukuni Sahu said that a committee will be constituted to look into the demands of the Odisha Driver Ekata Mahamanch.
She also appealed to the protesters not to cause inconvenience to the public and the students who are appearing exams.
The state government also directed all concerned officials of each district to put a contingency plan to prevent inconvenience to the public during the bandh.
Likewise, Twin City Police Commissioner Soumendra Priyadarshi said that strict action will be taken if any untoward situation is created on public roads or attempts are made to stop vehicular traffic.
