By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Orissa Tuesday hiked the bus fares following the increase in fuel prices as well as a strike call by a bus owners’ association in the state from Wednesday.
The official fares per kilometre have been hiked to 44, 46, 60 and 74 paise respectively from 40, 42, 55 and 67 paise for the four categories of bus service – ordinary, express, deluxe and super deluxe.
Following the hike, the bus owners’ association called off the proposed strike, a state trasnport department official said.
Earlier this month, the central government increased the prices of petrol by Rs.5 per litre, diesel by Rs.3 per litre and cooking gas by Rs.50 per cylinder following the spiralling global crude oil prices.
To soften the blow of the hike, the Orissa government reduced the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by two percent. After the reduction, the prices of petrol and diesel in the state are Rs.50.82 and Rs.37.25 respectively.