Mumbai: Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) employees and union leaders on Tuesday began a fast till August 10, when the Mayor will announce the BMC’s decision on resolution of the transport corporation’s financial crisis. The fast will not affect services, as drivers and conductors are not taking part in it.
The BEST’s transport division bears a monthly loss of ₹80 crore to ₹90 crore, and has a total debt of ₹2,100 crore. BEST is keen on merging its budget with that of the BMC in order to reduce its liability, but neither its Transport Committee nor the Mayor have announced a decision on this yet. Meanwhile, BEST is working on a list of austerity measures. A comprehensive list, which will include recommendations from the Mayor and municipal commissioner, will be made public on August 10.
Transport Committee member Suhas Samant said union members are opposed to BEST's privatisation and the decision to hire drivers on contract, but they have all agreed to the merger with the BMC because this will save the BEST's financial situation.
Shashank Rao, BEST Workers’ Union General Secretary was critical of the austerity measures. “We don’t approve of these steps. They are illegal. Now they want alter the conditions of the agreement that they entered into with our union. Secondly, they want to have contract drivers that will lead to privatisation ofthe public transport system. Finally, we believe there is no need for these austerity measures. BMC has Rs.63,000 crore in cash deposits and its primary responsibility is to provide transportation to Mumbai citizens,” he said.
Surendrakumar Bagde, General Manager, BEST has said the “austerity measures” will include fleet reduction, route rationalisation, freezing of salaries and fresh recruitments. On whether these imply a reduction in employment, all he said was, “We are not here to hurt anyone. We need to improve operational efficiency”. He also refuted alleged plans to reduce fares by Rs. 2 on short routes, saying the existing prices are “very competitive”. “We, however, requested Joint Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar to assist in removing illegal private vehicles and auto rickshaws from areas attached to bus stops.” Mr. Kumar said the police had begun clearing the areas that surrounded bus stops to ensure safety of public vehicles and bus traffic.
Meanwhile, Anil Kokil, Chairman, BEST Committee, said the organisation is planning to reutilise the 285 tainted King-Long buses by taking out the air-conditioners and re-doing the cabins.
Ambassadors appointed
In the midst of a financial crunch, the BEST has appointed 10 brand ambassadors for this year. Amol Kolhe, who plays Chhatrapati Shivaji in the teleserial Raja Shivchhatrapati , and film stars Prashant Damle, Arun Nalawde, Sharad Ponkshe, Avinash Narkar, Sheetal Shukla, Madhavi Juvekar, Atul Todankar, Adesh Bandekar and Subodh Bhave will promote public bus services. This was confirmed by Mr. Kokil at a press conference on Tuesday.
They will appeal to the public to opt for the environmentally-friendly BEST buses. “BEST is in a disastrous situation. This is one effort, but I don’t believe that brand ambassadors will help. We must transform ourselves,” said Ravi Raja, member, BEST Committee.
