Mumbai: Commuters across Mumbai continued to face severe disruption on Saturday as the BEST employees’ strike entered its second day, with bus services remaining largely paralysed. Attendance among operational staff remained negligible, forcing the undertaking to rely on emergency measures to maintain essential services.According to BEST, only 37 of the 3,076 scheduled drivers and 11 of the 4,705 conductors reported for duty by Saturday afternoon. Among wet-lease operators, just nine drivers reported for work, while none of the 1,694 scheduled conductors attended duty. As a result, no buses from the regular BEST fleet were operated against the scheduled deployment of 238 owned buses and 2,438 wet-lease buses.The BEST administration invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) and issued notices to striking employees and wet-lease contractors. BEST general manager Sonia Sethi said strict action had been initiated to ensure continuity of essential services.“The undertaking is taking all necessary measures to maintain essential services and minimise inconvenience to commuters,” Sethi said.To assist students appearing for the NEET examination, BEST operated 60 special buses on Saturday between 9 am and 1 pm, and again from 5 pm to 7 pm, covering 63 examination centres. The undertaking has also announced that 60 MSRTC buses will be deployed on Sunday for NEET candidates. A senior BEST official said the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) had been requested to provide 100 buses to support commuters during the strike.Sethi clarified that the agitation had not affected Mumbai’s electricity supply. “The essential power supply division is functioning smoothly and there is no adverse impact,” she said.Efforts to resolve the deadlock have begun at the government level. Minutes of a meeting held on Friday between transport minister Pratap Sarnaik and union representatives stated that a three-member committee comprising the BMC commissioner, BEST general manager and additional chief secretary (urban development) has been formed to examine employees’ demands and submit its findings within a week. The minutes further stated that a meeting in the presence of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde would be held during the monsoon session of the state legislature, after which a final decision would be taken.The BEST Joint Workers Action Committee maintained that employees were compelled to strike over long-pending demands linked to the undertaking’s financial future. Convenor Udaykumar Ambonkar apologised to commuters and said workers were seeking the BMC’s support for salaries and terminal benefits, settlement of retired employees’ dues, a wage agreement for 2016-26 and better service conditions for wet-lease staff.Ambonkar claimed Sarnaik had responded positively to the demands during Friday’s meeting, but the assurances were not reflected in the official minutes. “They now want concrete decisions on the future and financial position of BEST,” he said.Meanwhile, the Dadar police arrested a 55-year-old BEST conductor, Suresh Markadey Maheshwaram, for allegedly pelting a stone at a bus carrying passengers in Prabhadevi on Friday. Police said the windshield was shattered and the contractual driver and conductor were threatened for reporting to work during the strike. He was remanded in police custody for two days.Three more incidents of vandalism were reported in Dahisar, Borivli and Goregaon, where unidentified persons allegedly targeted operational BEST buses with stones. Police have registered FIRs and launched investigations.Dharavi police had registered a case on Friday against five persons for stopping, creating obstacles for a BEST bus to move and deflating the tyres of the bus. The incident took place in the morning. The driver of the bus lodged a complaint against five accused who all worked for the BEST.
