Bhubaneswar, Apr 18: Despite Orissa government's warning to private bus operators of grave consequence if they continued with their strike, the indefinite agitation by the bus owners demanding higher fare entered the third day today. "No matter what the government says, our strike will continue till the demand is met," All Orissa Private Bus Owners' Association spokesman Debasish Nayak said.
The government had already notified a hike in bus fare ranging from two to four paise per km in different categories of buses on Wednesday last but this was rejected by the striking bus operators.
"We stand by what we had demanded," Nayak said. The operators, who held negotiations with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Commerce and Transport Minister Arabinda Dhali and senior officials yesterday, insisted the fare should be hiked by a further one paise per km which the government rejected.
Dhali had warned the operators that they would face grave consequences if they did not end the strike immediately.
Commuters faced a difficult time in the absence of buses even as autorickshaws and trekkers continued to have a field day. Trains were running packed to capacity.
The state-owned Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), which operates a fleet of over 200 buses, was not able to cope with the demand as the private owners ran over 4,800 buses. Bureau Report