Orissa private bus operators to go on strike Friday

October 2nd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Private buses in Orissa kept off the roads for the second day Friday to protest a hike in toll fee, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Bus services were badly hit, especially in coastal districts as private buses kept off the National Highway 5 and 5A.

October 2nd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The private bus owners in Orissa Friday night announced an indefinite strike from Sunday after the state government refused to roll back the toll fee and turned down their three-point proposal. "We have received a letter from the state government turning down our proposal - of reduction in VAT, keeping the old toll fee rate and giving concession in diesel VAT.

August 21st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Maoist rebels have threatened to blow up the residence of Orissa Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadei and kill his son, police said Friday. The letter was received at the office of Orissa Mining Corporation at Jajpur Thursday.

July 23rd, 2009 KOLKATA - At least 17 associations of commercial vehicle operators in West Bengal will go on indefinite strike from Friday, to protest the state government's decision to ban all commercial vehicles that are over 15 years old. "We're sticking to our stand to call the strike if the state government does not pay any attention to our interests," said Sarnakamal Saha of Kolkata Metropolitian Bus and Minibus Owners' Association.

July 23rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Commercial vehicle operators will go on an indefinite strike in the city from Friday, after a meeting between the strikers and the West Bengal government failed to break a deadlock over the decision to ban all commercial vehicles that are over 15 years old. With the government expressing its determination to implement a high court order banning such vehicles, at least 17 associations of commercial vehicle operators declined to withdraw the indefinite transport strike call.

July 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has sought clarification from three private sector telecom operators for not reporting income from selling handsets along with their connections, a union minister said Monday. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has sought clarification from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Esar and Idea Cellular for not showing income from bundling handsets along with connections, for the purpose of calculating revenue share payable to the exchequer, Minister of State for Communications and IT Gurudas Kamat told the Lok Sabha.

July 13th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Bus operators of private schools in the city continued their strike for the fourth day Monday against a government order making it mandatory for all such buses to install speed governors. Over 500 privately owned school buses were off the roads for the fourth day, posing problems to parents and school children.

July 13th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Private school bus operators, on strike for the past four days against a government order making speed governors mandatory in all buses, Monday evening called off their stir after the Chandigarh administration formed a committee to look into their demands. The bus operators' association agreed to install speed governors by Sep 30, the new deadline set by the administration.

April 8th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Nationalist Congress Party alliance with the Left parties and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa is 'only Orissa-specific', NCP chief Sharad Pawar said here Wednesday. 'Our arrangement is only Orissa-specific,' Pawar told a press conference, addressed jointly with Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik.

February 28th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - With temperatures hovering around a sweltering 40 degrees Celsius for several days, Orissa Friday rescheduled the working hours of daily wage labourers who are usually the worst affected by the heat. 'We have asked all private and government concerns not to engage daily wage earners and labourers during the middle of the day when the heat is at its peak,' labour secretary Jagar Singh told IANS.

February 28th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Maoist guerrillas Saturday attacked a railway station and blew up its building in Orissa's Sundergarh district, police said. Nearly 100 rebels attacked the Bhalulata railway station, asked three employees to vacate the building and blew it up with explosives, Inspector General of Police Pranabindu Acharya told IANS.

January 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Chaos took over the capital's roads Friday morning, with serpentine queues outside the few petrol pumps that had not run dry spilling over on to roads and creating major traffic snarls that forced every motorist to waste more fuel. With no end in sight to the strike by officials in public sector oil companies for more pay and by truck operators for cheaper diesel and tyres, panicky residents scrambled to stock up on fuel and vegetables.

January 7th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa government will invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to tackle the ongoing strike by employees of public sector oil companies, a state official said Thursday. Those who try to obstruct free flow of petroleum products in the state will be dealt with under the act, the official from the state civil supply department told IANS.

January 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Wednesday urged the central government to further reduce the price of diesel and take other immediate steps to end the truck operators' strike, which the party said has 'disrupted transport of supplies'. The transporters are protesting the government reluctance so far to reduce the diesel price by 'at least Rs.10 a litre' - as the truckers want - against the Rs.2 a litre now, and steep road taxes.

January 4th, 2009 CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR - With truck operators beginning their nationwide strike, shortage of vegetables and other essential commodities is expected in markets across India. Thousands of trucks from Punjab and Haryana went off the roads midnight Sunday following a strike call given by the transporters' body, the All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC).