Odisha: The drivers went on strike, walking 28 km overnight to pick up the bride, the groom reached his in-laws house on foot
In Odisha, a groom had to walk 28 km to get married. He walked to the door of the bride. Baraati also reached on foot behind him. Actually, the groom’s family could not arrange a vehicle due to the strike of the drivers.
The procession was to go to Dibalapadu village
This entire matter pertains to Rayagada district. The marriage of a young man from Sunkhandi Panchayat of Kalyansinghpur block of the district was fixed with a girl from Dibalapadu village. According to the fixed date, the procession was to reach on Thursday. A vehicle was also booked to take the wedding processions. But at the last moment the drivers went on strike. In such a situation, he had to go for the wedding on foot. The groom and the baraati walked 28 km to reach Dibalapadu village, where the wedding took place on Friday. A video has surfaced on social media of some women including the groom and his family members walking at night.
The groom and his family stayed at the bride’s house
One of the groom’s family members said, “No vehicle could be found due to the strike by the drivers.” We walked the whole night to reach the bride’s village. We had no other option. The marriage ceremony was performed on Friday morning. But the groom and his family members stayed back at the bride’s house and waited for the drivers’ union to call off the strike, so that they could return home.
Strike postponed for 90 days
The Chalak Ekta Mahasangh has launched an indefinite strike across the state from Wednesday demanding social welfare measures like insurance, pension, formation of welfare boards and others. The strike by commercial vehicle drivers in Odisha was on Friday postponed for 90 days after the state government assured them that all their demands would be met. The announcement came hours after Chief Secretary PK Jena and DGP SK Bansak appealed to the striking drivers to call off the strike.
Normal life affected by the strike
The strike by over two lakh drivers affected normal life as people, including office-goers and tourists, remained stranded at various places. This has also increased the prices of essential commodities.
