BHUBANESWAR: Over 2,000 students under the aegis of Chhatra Congress on Tuesday brought the city bus services to a halt to press for free bus travel. The city bus services in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda and Puri were hit as students of various colleges in Bhubaneswar stalled the public transport system. They staged a sit-in at the Master Canteen square and blocked the city bus depot demanding immediate fulfilment of their demand. Chhatra Congress president Chinmay Sahoo demanded complete free service for college students in the city buses. “We were forced to resort to agitation after a bus conductor misbehaved with a student on Saturday. We want complete free service in the city bus from now on,” he said. “Our demand is not impossible to be met as similar facilities are being provided to students in many parts of the country,” he added. Later in the day, the students met the Special Secretary in the Commerce and Transport Department, Guru Charan Ray, and submitted a memorandum. Stating that immediate fulfilment of the demand is impossible, Ray promised to apprise the Government of the issue. Informing that the Chhatra Congress would continue with the agitation till the demand is conceded, Sahoo said that student bodies across the State would paralyse all OSRTC buses from Wednesday along with the city buses. Meanwhile, Nishikant Mishra, chairman of Dream Team Sahara (DTS), said he is awaiting a report from the State Government on the student’s demand. “Unless we get a report from the government, the DTS bus service will remain suspended. We cannot ply the buses unless we are assured of the safety of our passengers, staff and the buses,” Mishra said. The DTS on Tuesday incurred a loss of ` 5 lakh.
Comments
0 comment