Mumbai: Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST (AMAB), a civil society platform comprising commuters and activists from different organisations, held protests at various locations in the city on Thursday, seeking improvement in bus services operated by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. Protestors also submitted a memorandum enlisting around half a dozen key demands, including discontinuation of the practice of wet leasing buses, to officers in-charge of 21 BEST depots across the city.
The protests, which drew over 100 participants, were held a day after a row erupted over two departments of the state government naming two separate Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers as general manager of the cash-strapped BEST. One of the departments subsequently denied making any appointment and Asheesh Sharma assumed charge as the BEST general manager.
AMAB had called for protests in front of BEST depots in the city on Thursday, to coincide with BEST’s 78th foundation day. Accordingly, commuters and members of the civil society group started assembling outside bus depots and bus stands outside railway stations from 10am, amid showers in various parts of the city.
“Members from over 20 different organisations including BEST employees’ unions participated in the protests,” said Hussain Indorewala, an urban researcher and founding member of AMAB who participated in a demonstration at Andheri in the evening.
“We also submitted a memorandum of demands to the officers in-charge at 21 bus depots across the city,” he said.
Demands enlisted in the memoranda included discontinuation of the wet lease system, immediate rollback of the recent fare hike, restoration of long-distance routes that were canceled/ curtailed in the recent past, and integration of the BEST budget with the budget of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in line with sections 126 and 134 of the BMC Act, 1888.
The undertaking’s practice of wet-leasing buses from private companies instead of purchasing them outright has turned out to be a “total fiasco”, said Jagnarayan Kahar, an AMAB member Magathane, Borivali.
“BEST should restore its own fleet to 6,250 buses and improve carrying capacity,” he said.
The undertaking currently has a fleet of 2,670 buses, of which only 430 buses are owned by it.
Protestors also opposed ongoing efforts to lease out land at BEST depots to private builders on long-term basis, for 60-90 years. The depots are critical for bus parking, maintenance, refueling and amenities for the staff, they said.
“Performance of a public transport system must be evaluated not just on financial metrics but on accessibility, service quality, coverage, and commuter satisfaction,” said Indorewala.
Organisations which participated in the protests and endorsed the memoranda of demands included Democratic Youth Federation of India, Humanist Centre (Dahisar and Borivali), Disha Students’ Organisation, Fridays for Future Mumbai, Jan Haq Sangharsh Samiti, CITU, Students’ Federation of India, Lokraj Sanghatana, Purogami Mahila Sanghatana and BEST Nivruth Kamgar Sanghatana, among others.