Bhubaneswar, Mar 14 (IANS): Passengers and daily commuters suffered immense inconvenience in Odisha on Wednesday as more than 17,000 private buses remained off the roads due to a strike by their association over several demands.

Among other things, the All Odisha Private Bus Owners' Association (AOPBOA) has been demanding that the government stop the movement of the city buses on the outskirts.

Talks between the AOPBOA and Transport Minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu over their longstanding demands had remained inconclusive on Tuesday, following which the bus owners' body had called for the strike.

"We don't want to cause inconvenience to the people. But, we can't run the buses at a loss. The government should consider our genuine demands," said association general secretary Debendra Sahu.

He said the city buses are a major threat to the private buses since the government has also allowed them to operate on the cities outskirts.

Meanwhile, the Transport department has called another meeting on Wednesday to discuss the demands of the AOPBOA.