Mumbai: The bus strike in Mumbai is likely to continue for yet another day as the unions’ talks with govt and senior BEST officials ended in a deadlock on Friday evening.The city’s public transport system was thrown into disarray on Friday morning after an indefinite strike by BEST employees brought bus services to a near-complete halt and slightly affected power supply operations in parts of the island city. The impact was particularly visible in business hubs such as Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), where the MMRDA’s ‘Public Transport Day’ event was overshadowed by the absence of buses, forcing office-goers to walk long distances from railway stations or rely on expensive alternatives. Talks with govt and senior BEST officials on Friday evening ended in deadlock and the strike by staffers continued.While only nine BEST-owned and 39 wet lease buses operated out of a total fleet of 2,800 buses on Friday, there were 26 incidents reported including 10 of stone pelting, 10 cases of threats issued to drivers, air removed from tyres of three buses, three front mirrors broken, said BEST spokesperson.The strike call by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, an umbrella body of 12 unions, left nearly 23 lakh daily commuters stranded and sparked widespread inconvenience across the metropolis. Although sources said that strike also slightly affected BEST’s electricity distribution wing, BEST general manager Sonia Sethi said that there was no impact on the power supply division which caters to 10.8 lakh consumers in island city.Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik intervened later in the day and held discussions with protestors in the presence of Sethi, and it was decided that during the monsoon session of state assembly, there will be another meeting of unions with deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who also holds the urban development portfolio, and a final decision will be taken on the demands. Sarnaik appealed to the union to withdraw their strike callBEST Karmachari Sena general secretary Uday Ambonkar said, “Until we receive a written assurance from the govt, we have decided not to withdraw the strike. We want a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, or both, on Saturday—why wait for the monsoon session?”Commuters reported significant hardship, with autorickshaw and kaali-peeli taxi drivers either refusing rides or charging higher fares. Surge pricing by app-based aggregators such as Ola and Uber compounded the problem. “The absence of BEST buses has caused major difficulties, especially for schoolchildren and parents waiting at bus stops who were unaware of the strike,” said a Mazgaon resident. Devotees attending the annual Novena at Mahim also had to depend on Metro services to return to the suburbs.BEST officials maintained that the strike was in defiance of an interim industrial court order issued on Thursday restraining employees from going on strike. However, union leaders defended the action, alleging failure on the part of the undertaking and the state govt to engage in meaningful dialogue. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and union representative Nitin Nandgaonkar, who has been leading the agitation, said : “BEST failed to initiate dialogue and instead approached the court. As per directives, they should have invited us for discussions. The contempt lies with BEST.” Nandgaonkar further alleged exploitation of employees, citing issues such as stalled promotions, lack of recruitment, pending gratuity payments for retired staff and unequal wages for contractual workers. He also opposed wet lease models and privatisation, terming them a “conspiracy to end BEST”.BEST committee chairperson Trushna Vishwasrao said she had met union representatives earlier and assured them that their demands would be taken up on priority, expressing disappointment over the decision to proceed with the strike.
