30,000 BEST buses on strike affecting commuters

STRAP: As the two-day Bharat Bandh called by labour unions to protest against the Narendra Modi government policies began this morning, commuters were having a tough time finding buses, autorickshaws and taxis in several cities like Mumbai.

MUMBAI: NP NEWS 24 ONLINE- Thousands of commuters are facing a harrowing time in Mumbai as the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply Transport (BEST) employees decided to go on an indefinite strike from Monday night.

Mumbai police tweeted that “As per the latest information from BMC control room, BEST buses will be on an indefinite strike from 5 AM on Tuesday.”

Over 30,000 state bus transport staff in Maharashtra went on an indefinite strike demanding immediate payment of their pending salaries. At least 25 lakh commuters who travel by buses daily have been affected as they had no information regarding the strike.

The employees are on a silent protest until their demands are met. In addition to releasing their pending salaries, the workers also seek regularisation of salary grades with retrospective effect, gratuity for retired employees, re-initiation of recruitment and promotion process and merger of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) budget and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget.

An industrial court warned the workers’ union and declared the strike as illegal. The BEST transport is the second largest mass transport system in the city after local trains. Lakhs of people are dependent on buses to reach their workplace, colleges and schools. Aggrieved passengers are opposing the strike saying that it is always them who have to suffer.

Meanwhile, private players have stepped in to provide bus services since there is a lack of alternatives. They are capitalising on the opportunity by doubling the commute fares. However, most of the passengers cannot afford to take these private buses due to budget constraints. Unaware about the strike, thousands of them are stranded as they do not have money to go back home. Many of them preferred walking on foot to their destination rather than paying the double amount. Some passengers also complained that a large part of their salaries is spent on commute.

In southern India, cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, public transport services were largely unaffected but the shutdown was total in Left-ruled Kerala. In Bengaluru, several schools, colleges and banks were reported to be shut during the day. Some universities even deferred the examinations. In West Bengal’s Howrah, railway lines were also blocked by protesters.

Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, “The strike is quite visible in Assam, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Manipur, Bihar, Rajasthan, Goa, Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana particularly in the targeted industrial areas and different mines.”