MH-BEST STRIKE-ACTIVISTS

Amid the ongoing strike by the

employees of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport

(BEST), activists and experts Thursday blamed the Mumbai civic

body for not taking timely steps to address the "crisis" in

the transport body.

The transport experts also called for fresh investment

and upgradation of infrastructure to improve the transport

services of the BEST.

Nearly 32,000 BEST employees have been on an

indefinite strike since Tuesday over various demands,

including higher salaries and merger of the budget of the

loss-making undertaking with that of the BMC. The strike has

inconvenienced lakhs of commuters.

Transport activist and former journalist Vidyadhar

Date has written a letter to Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta

mentioning how the civic body could have avoided the situation

and saved the commuters from hardships.

He urged Mehta to immediately concede to the "just"

demands of the striking workers of the BEST.

Date, who has written to Mehta on behalf of Aamchi

Mumbai Aamchi BEST (AMAB), a forum of citizens for public

transport, said the main demand of the employees- merger of

the BEST budget with that of the BMC- was in the interest of

the majority of commuters.

"Like healthcare, education, water supply, waste

disposal and sewerage, public transport must be run not to

make profit, but as an essential service. This (merger of

budget) is necessary for the economic and physical health of

the city," he wrote.

He said that the AMAB has come up with a "workable,

inexpensive and efficient" approach for the revival of the

BEST's bus services, suggesting how the transport body can

increase bus ridership, improve the service quality and

reliability as well as improve its coverage and access.

"The impression gained by the discerning public is

clear that the BMC and the government do not want to hear or

consider any sensible means to address the problems of the

city's affordable public transport service.

"They continue to remain dogmatic, autocratic and

tight-fisted pushing through their privatisation plans and

refusing to subsidise and finance its operations," he said in

the letter.

"At the same time, the BMC is cutting down routes,

increasing bus fares, and denying workers their dues," he said

and further alleged that the civic body had done "absolutely

nothing" to address why the BEST was reeling under crisis.

He also mentioned that over the past five years,

nearly 18 per cent of the BEST routes were discontinued, the

size of its fleet was reduced by 21 per cent and 7,200 staff

positions were scrapped causing non-availability of

employees to operate the buses.

Another transport analyst Hussain Indorewala said the

BMC and the BEST need to invest money to address the core

infrastructural issues.

"BEST management has been on investment strike since

many years. We need to stop this first. This is the reason why

the BEST services have not improved. So, fresh investment is

the need of the hour to address the core issues," he said.

"Besides this, the BEST also needs the same attention

that was given to construct the Bandra-Worli Sea Link or the

Eastern Freeway. Only car-centric projects should not be our

priority," he said.

Jitendra Gupta, another expert on transport issues and

a member of Citizens' Transport Committee, a city-based forum,

questioned the government's ability and intention to end the

strike.

"This strike has proven that the government agencies

be it BEST, BMC or state government are least bothered to

address the issues. BEST is financially bleeding because of

poor management of the undertaking since so long and it

(strike) was bound to happen," he said.

"As a long-term solution, the administration should

start 10-seater vehicles for public transport. This will break

not only the BEST's monopoly, but also that of the

autorickshaws and taxis as well," Gupta said.