Govt bus services to resume on Monday in Odisha

The state-run OSRTC will resume bus services on 66 routes on Monday, an official said. The Odisha State Road Transport Corporation's bus services remained suspended since March 22 due to the lockdown.

The services will restart with 96 buses connecting 22 towns in the state, OSRTC chairman-cum-managing director Arun Bothra said. He said more buses and routes will be added in the coming days.

In accordance with the policy and direction of the state government, the OSRTC has been active in helping migrant workers, he said. On requisition from the district administrations, buses are being provided for the movement of migrant workers.

Till last week, out of 440 buses operated by OSRTC, 70 per cent were deployed to facilitate transportation of guest workers. Now, as this workload is reducing and there is a demand for regular bus services from several districts, the OSRTC is resuming its regular operations, Bothra said. He said no standing passengers will be allowed to travel in the buses and wearing of masks will be compulsory for all the commuters.

No one will be allowed to board a bus without a mask, he said. In the larger public interest, we are asking people not to travel unless it is necessary and maintain social distancing. It is in their own interest that they should not crowd the buses," Bothra said.

Additional cleaning measures have been put in place to disinfect all the buses, he said..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)