MH-BEST-STRIKE

The BEST bus strike in Mumbai

Friday entered the fourth day with a stalemate prevailing

between striking workers and the management of the civic-run

transport undertaking.

Lakhs of commuters were inconvenienced with

autorickshaws, taxis and private transport buses pressed into

service proving inadequate to take on the passenger load

catered to by the BEST on a daily basis.

All eyes are now on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

filed against the bus strike in the Bombay High Court. The HC

is scheduled to hear the PIL Friday afternoon.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party controls

the BMC, the parent body of BEST, Thursday held several rounds

of talks with BEST union leaders in the presence of Mayor

Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and BEST

general manager Surendra Kumar but could not break the

deadlock.

With the 3200-odd bus fleet of the Brihanmumbai

Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) off the roads, both

Western and Central Railways ran extra services and several

MSRTC buses were also deployed in the metropolis, said

officials.

Over 32,000 BEST employees went on an indefinite

strike on Tuesday over various demands, including higher

salaries and merger of the BEST and BMC budgets.

The state government has already invoked the stringent

Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) against

the striking BEST employees but the move has not been able to

force workers to call off their strike.

Workers, meanwhile, said they are yet to get salaries

for the month of December despite it being ten days into the

new year.

Commuters appeared at their wits' end as the strike

has been among the longer ones that the metropolis has seen in

recent times.

Rajaram Satpute, a daily commuter from Kurla to Mahul,

said, "I have been living in Mumbai for the past 40 years and

I have never seen such a long BEST strike."

He hit out at parties in the BMC and questioned them

about steps taken in the recent past to ensure such crippling

strikes do not occur.

He also took a swipe at Maharashtra Chief Minister

Devendra Fadnavis who is currently in Uttar Pradesh.

"I want to ask the CM what he is doing in Uttar

Pradesh. This is the time when he should be in Mumbai,"

Satpute said.

Other demands of the striking workers include

deliberations on a new wage agreement, resuming appointments

on compassionate and bonus at par with BMC staffers.