Odisha plans to start bus service in green zone: Minister

Odisha Commerce and Transport minister Padmanabha Behera said this after a high-level meeting here. The state has about 15,000 passenger buses which are idle since the lockdown was imposed in the state on March 22.

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Monday said it was contemplating to start bus services in green zone with vehicles carrying 50 per cent of their full capacity, officials said.

Odisha Commerce and Transport minister Padmanabha Behera said this after a high-level meeting here. The state has about 15,000 passenger buses which are idle since the lockdown was imposed in the state on March 22.

Though the MHA guideline allows running of passenger buses in the green zone, the Odisha Bus Owners Association has expressed reluctance to run vehicles with 50 per cent capacity fearing losses, the minister said, adding that 50 per cent capacity is allowed in order to maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, the minister said, the government has been considering some relaxation for the bus owners so that they will not sustain loss if they operate the vehicle with 50 per cent of their capacity.

"We have already decided to operate the buses and a proposal in this regard has been sent to the Chief Minister for approval. We hope, the chief minister will accept the proposal and buses will run as usual in 16 districts where there is no trace of COVID-19 so far," the minister told reporters.

Of the 30 districts of Odisha, 16 districts are in the green zone while 16 districts are under orange zone and three other districts - Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation have been categorized as red zone.

The districts which are in the green zone are Angul, Bargarh, Boudh, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sonepur, Cuttack and Puri.

Similarly, districts like Khurda (except Bhubaneswar), Sundergarh, Kendrapara, Koraput, Keonjhar, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi and Ganjam are under the orange zone.

(PTI)