Odisha moves neighbours to resume bus services

BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Monday sought the consent of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal to re-start inter-state movement of passenger buses.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on May 17 approved inter-state movement of passenger buses subject to mutual consents from the concerned states. “We have written to the governments of the six states and sought their consent.If they agree, we will re-start bus operations,” transport secretary Madhusudan Padhi said.
In the letters, the transport department has sought consent from the six states to exempt road tax of the buses for three months (from April to June). “We have already exempted the road tax for three months taking into consideration the losses sustained by the bus operators due to non-plying of their vehicles from mid-March till date. We have sought consent from the six states to agree on the tax exemption,” Padhi said. He informed that the passengers, who come from the six states in the buses, should register themselves with the state government’s Covid-19 portal before boarding the vehicles and stay in home quarantine.
Sources said Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are reluctant to re-start inter-state bus service amid Covid-19 pandemic. “After sending them the letters, we spoke to their officials over phone. Their transport officials appeared reluctant to give consent now. Still, we are waiting for their formal letter of consent or denial,” another transport official said.
The state government ordered resumption of intra-state movement of passenger buses on May 26. However, only a handful of buses are currently plying in different districts owing to low turnout of passengers. The private bus owners have been demanding Rs 50 lakh insurance coverage for bus staff among other facilities to start full-fledged movement of inter-district buses in the state.