BEST Bus Strike Enters Second Day in Mumbai as Commuters Face Severe Disruptions
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus strike entered its second consecutive day in Mumbai on Saturday, causing severe travel disruptions for lakhs of commuters.
Despite appeals from the Maharashtra transport minister and the invocation of the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), employees continued their indefinite strike after talks failed to yield a resolution.
Uday Ambonkar, the convenor of the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, stated that the agitation would continue in the absence of any concrete decision.
The near-complete halt in bus services forced office-goers, students, senior citizens, and patients to rely heavily on overcrowded local trains, Metro services, taxis, autorickshaws, and app-based cab services.
According to BEST officials, only 48 out of the fleet of 2,766 buses were operational on Friday, the first day of the strike. Several buses had to be returned to their depots due to obstruction and incidents of vandalism by striking workers. Officials reported 26 cases of stone-pelting, threats, tyre deflation, and damage to bus mirrors on the opening day.
The strike was called by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, which represents several employee unions, to press for long-pending demands. These demands include merging the budget of the BEST with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and implementing the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission for the 2016–2026 period.
Additionally, the union is demanding the settlement of legal dues for retired employees, the abolition of contractual systems in both the transport and electricity departments, and the absorption of wet-lease bus workers directly into BEST.
On Friday, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik held a joint meeting with action committee leaders, urban development department officials, and the BEST administration. The meeting was held under the directions of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde but failed to reach an agreement.
BEST is Mumbai's second-largest public transport provider, carrying approximately 25 lakh passengers daily. It also supplies electricity to over 10 lakh consumers in the city.
