Dikhyaa Mohanty 
On Wednesday morning, there was little to no traffic in the state’s capital Bhubaneswar and nearby areas since many private public transportation vehicles chose to stay off the roads in favor of the Driver Ekata Mahamancha’s call for an all-Odisha indefinite strike starting today. On Wednesday, the majority of private buses and autorickshaws were still off the road, which caused issues for matric students and those making the commute to work. The call for a strike, nevertheless, had little impact on how vehicles were moving along state and federal routes.
At Tomando in Bhubaneswar, Gopalpur Chhak in Cuttack, Soro in Balasore, Ainthapally in Sambalpur, and several other locations around the state, agitators were observed holding protests. Nonetheless, because there were no unpleasant incidents recorded anywhere in the state, the protests were orderly.
Members of the Driver Ekata Mahamancha have gone on strike in favor of their ten-point demand charter, which includes social security. As their demands were being actively considered, the state administration encouraged the agitated drivers to end the ongoing strike. Tukuni Sahu, the minister of commerce and transportation, met with members of Mahamancha on Tuesday and pleaded with them to end the strike in light of the upcoming matriculation, Plus II, and polytechnic exams in the state. The Mahamancha, however, opted to go forward with the strike since they were not happy with the meeting’s decision.
