By Admin 
- The demands of the employees are contract regularization, budget merger, payment of dues etc.
People in Mumbai are facing a lot of problems due to the indefinite strike of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) employees. Due to this strike, bus services of the entire city have collapsed, due to which lakhs of people are facing problems. People traveling by buses daily have to resort to taxis, autos, metro and private vehicles. Meanwhile, Mumbai Police is preparing to take action against the strike of BEST employees.
A case will be registered against the protesting employees who stopped the buses leaving the depot. The administration and Mumbai Police had already declared this strike of the unions illegal under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2023. Along with this, Mumbai Police had appealed to the protesters to maintain peace and not disturb law and order, but despite this, the matter has escalated due to stone pelting on buses.
Brake on Mumbai’s speed! BEST employees’ strike halts service, only 32 out of 2766 buses run
6 buses sent back to depot due to stone pelting
According to the information, BEST buses coming out of the depot on Friday (June 19) morning were stopped by the agitating employees. According to the administration, 6 buses that were on the road had to be sent back to the depot due to stone pelting and other reasons. In such a situation, preparations are being made to take action against them.
Mumbaikars are facing a lot of trouble due to the employees’ strike. Due to BEST buses almost disappearing from the roads, passengers are facing a lot of problems. Out of the total fleet of 2,766 buses of BEST, 38 buses were taken out from various depots on Friday, but due to opposition from the striking employees and incidents of stone pelting at some places, six buses had to return. Due to this, only 32 buses could be run to serve the passengers.
What are the demands of the employees?
BEST employees are on strike with several demands, including inclusion of contract employees in regular service. The employees demand that the budget of BEST should be merged with the budget of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Apart from this, there is a demand for lump sum payment of dues of retired employees and immediate fulfillment of other pending demands. BEST employees have started a strike movement with these demands.
Let us tell you that BEST is the second largest public transport service in the city after Mumbai’s suburban local train and it provides bus service to about 23-25 lakh passengers every day. BEST currently has a fleet of about 2,766 buses, of which only 249 buses are BEST’s own, while the remaining buses are operated on wet-lease model through private contractors.