Panchanan Sahu, a 42-year-old bus owner from Kandhamal with a fleet of five minibuses, now sells vegetables with the pandemic having frozen the transport business.
Sahu said one of his problems was that while his income from his buses had plummeted to zero, he still had to pay the insurance premium and permit fee both of them hiked during the pandemic and road tax.
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“Most of my 20 employees have left, their dues unpaid. Only five have stayed on, selling vegetables with me and looking after the buses, which are in poor condition,” Sahu told The Telegraph.
“Whatever the earning from selling vegetables, I share with them.”