BEST strike continues for second day, lakhs of Mumbai commuters hit

Mumbai commuters continued to face difficulties on Saturday as the strike by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking entered its second day.

Despite appeals by the Maharashtra Transport Minister and the invocation of the Essential Services Maintenance Act, employees remained firm on continuing the agitation, leaving passengers dependent on overcrowded local trains and Metro services, along with taxis, autorickshaws and app-based cabs to travel across the city.

“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 strike has severely affected the daily commute of lakhs of people in the financial capital. Office-goers, students, senior citizens and patients have reported difficulties in reaching their destinations due to the near-total suspension of bus services.

Mumbai commuters hit as BEST workers launch indefinite strike

BEST is Mumbai’s second-largest public transport provider after the suburban railway network. It 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. The undertaking also supplies electricity to more than 10 lakh consumers in the island city.

The strike has been called by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, a joint action committee representing some employee unions, to press for its long-pending demands.

Its key demands include 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.

On Friday, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik 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. However, the discussions remained inconclusive.

The strike began 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 Shramik Utkarsh Sabha and the BEST Kamgar Union, which represent a section of employees, have distanced themselves from the agitation.

Despite efforts by the administration, only 48 of BEST’s 2,766 buses operated on Friday. Some buses were also forced to return to depots after incidents of stone-pelting and obstruction by striking workers.

According to BEST officials, 26 incidents of stone-pelting, threatening, flattening tyres and damage to bus mirrors were reported on the first day of the strike.

SEO Title:
BEST Strike Day 2: Mumbai Commuters Face Major Disruption as Bus Services Remain Suspended

Social Media Caption:
BEST employees continued their strike for a second day on Saturday, disrupting travel for lakhs of Mumbai commuters. With only 48 buses operating on Friday, passengers have been forced to rely on crowded trains, Metro services and cabs. The unions say the agitation will continue until a concrete decision is taken on their demands.

#Mumbai #BESTStrike #MumbaiTraffic #PublicTransport #BESTBus #Maharashtra #MumbaiNews #Commuters #EknathShinde #PratapSarnaik