BEST strike enters day 2; Mumbai arranges extra buses for NEET re-test candidates

Mumbai: Commuters continued to face severe inconvenience for the second day in Mumbai as the ongoing strike by employees of the civic-run BEST, which provides bus services in Mumbai, evoked a near-total response Saturday. To facilitate students taking the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) retest on Sunday, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has arranged 60 additional buses across Mumbai between 9 am and 1 pm and from 5 pm to 7 pm, the undertaking said in a statement.

The absence of BEST buses on roads forced common Mumbaikars, including students and office-goers, to opt for shared taxis or autorickshaws as relatively affordable modes of transport, while some relied on bike taxis. The public transporter said that it has also requested the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to provide 100 buses to augment services during the disruption.

Notices have been served under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) to employees participating in the ongoing strike and to wet-lease contractors, it said. Under MESMA, legal steps can be initiated against striking employees. The action has been taken as part of measures to maintain essential transport services and minimise inconvenience to commuters affected by the strike, it said. None of the 246 scheduled BEST-owned buses had left depots, while only four wet-lease buses were on the road against a scheduled turnout of 2,521 buses, data released by BEST at 10 am had shown.

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A student of MD College in Parel said he normally travels by bus from Dongri every day, but due to the strike, he had to use a bike taxi, which was significantly more expensive than his usual commute. A group of girl students said they walked from the Parel railway station as finding a cab during the morning rush was difficult. Some office-goers said the situation was less chaotic than on Friday, as commuters were already aware of the strike and avoided waiting at bus stops. Additionally, local trains and metro services were less crowded on Saturday, which cushioned the impact of the strike. Several office-goers opted to work from home.

"There was a long queue for cabs outside Dadar station, but thanks to the shared taxi service, returning to Dadar from KEM Hospital was not a problem," said Dharmesh Tiwari, a resident of Kalwa in Thane district. The data also reflected poor attendance among operational staff, according to the BEST undertaking. Among BEST's own employees, only 26 bus drivers reported for duty against a scheduled strength of 1,937, while nine conductors turned up against 2,646 scheduled personnel. Among starters, 38 employees reported for work against a scheduled deployment of 228, the data showed.

Attendance among bus inspectors was relatively better, with 119 of the 221 scheduled personnel reporting for duty. Wet-lease operations were similarly affected, with only eight drivers reporting for duty against a scheduled strength of 3,063, while none of the 1,137 scheduled conductors marked attendance, according to BEST. BEST said the strike has not affected its electricity supply operations and that power services continue to function normally. Providing passengers with uninterrupted, safe and reliable services remains the administration's top priority, and all possible efforts are being made to reduce the impact of the strike, it added.

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Despite appeals by the Maharashtra Transport Minister and the invocation of the Essential Services Maintenance Act, employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport remained firm on strike. "In the absence of any concrete decision, we have decided to continue our agitation," Uday Ambonkar, convenor, BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti (joint action committee of unions), told PTI late on Friday night.

The BEST undertaking is Mumbai's second-largest public transport provider after the suburban railway network and carries around 25 lakh passengers daily through its fleet of 2,766 buses, most of them hired on a wet-lease basis from private operators. It also supplies electricity to more than 10 lakh consumers in the island city. The strike commenced on Friday despite an ad-interim order of an industrial court restraining employees from resorting to a strike and the invocation of the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), which prohibits the disruption of essential services.

The BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, a joint action committee representing some employee unions, has called the strike to press for its long-pending demands. Among the key demands are the merger of BEST's budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for the 2016-2026 period, settlement of legal dues of retired employees, abolition of contractual arrangements in the transport and electricity departments, and absorption of wet-lease bus workers into BEST.

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Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Friday held a joint meeting with leaders of the action committee, officials of the Urban Development Department and the BEST administration on the directions of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, but the discussions remained inconclusive. The Shramik Utkarsh Sabha and the BEST Kamgar Union, which represent a section of employees, have distanced themselves from the agitation.