Citizens’ group Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST has urged the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking to convert its depots into distribution centres for food, water and medicines.
In a letter to BEST committee chairman Anil Patankar, the group also asked the BEST to provide safety kits to its staff and explore the option of using buses to deliver essential items. Since the start of the lockdown, the BEST has been the city’s only transport provider.
Along with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, it has been plying buses on limited routes and catering to people providing essential services. On Friday, it ran 1,674 buses of the scheduled 3,073 buses. Mr. Patankar said there were plans of converting the depots into relief centres, but there has been no official word or directive regarding the suggestion. “If the need arises, we will definitely pursue it,” he said.
In the letter, the citizens’ collective said the city’s 27 bus depots were large open spaces that could be used for the delivery of aid. It also said several marginalised groups in the city have had to bear the brunt of the 21-day lockdown. They are surviving without any source of income and their food stocks are depleting, it said.
