Mumbai Bus Services Crippled for Third Day by BEST Employee Strike

Mumbai: Bus services remained severely disrupted across Mumbai on Sunday as the strike by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking entered its third day.

The BEST undertaking, however, said it had arranged more than 100 buses to facilitate students appearing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) re-examination in the city on Sunday.

The strike, called by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, has virtually paralysed the civic-run bus transport system since Friday, forcing passengers to depend on local trains, Metro services, taxis and autorickshaws for their daily commute.

The agitation has continued despite the government's invocation of the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) and an industrial court's ad-interim order restraining employees from resorting to a strike.

BEST's permanent and temporary staff as well as most of the employees of wet-lease operators have been participating in the strike.

Notices were served under the MESMA on Saturday to employees participating in the ongoing strike and to wet-lease contractors. Under MESMA, legal steps can be initiated against striking employees.

BEST operates a fleet of 2,766 buses and carries around 25 lakh passengers daily, making it Mumbai's second-largest public transport provider after the suburban railway network.

On the first day of the strike on Friday, only 48 buses operated, while several buses were reportedly forced to return to depots following incidents of obstruction and stone-pelting.

Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik held talks with union representatives and senior officials of the Urban Transport Department and the BEST undertaking on Friday, but the discussions remained inconclusive.

On Saturday, only four buses were on the roads during the first half of the day, leaving passengers dependent on other modes of transport. Attendance among drivers, conductors and other operational staff also remained poor.

In a statement on Saturday evening, the employees' unions leading the protest said they were ready for talks with the government at any time and urged the state leadership to take an early decision on their pending demands.

The strike has led to a sharp increase in ridership on Metro services and added pressure on the suburban railway network, while many office-goers opted to work from home. Commuters reported long waits for taxis and autorickshaws and higher travel expenses due to the absence of buses.

Union leaders have maintained that the agitation will continue until the government gives a definite commitment on their demands, including the merger of BEST's budget with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, settlement of retired employees' dues, abolition of contractual arrangements in transport and electricity operations, and absorption of wet-lease bus workers into BEST.