As many as 796 of the more than 1,600 buses wet leased by Mumbai s civic transport utility BEST remained off roads on Monday as drivers of the private bus operators continued their strike for the sixth day over salary hike and other demands, officials said. Sunil Vaidya, spokesperson of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), said the public transport body operated 603 wet leased buses with its own drivers on various bus routes, along with operating around 1,390 of its own buses.
Several bus routes of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) were affected after contractual employees of a private bus operator, SMT (also known as the Daga Group), hired by BEST, went on a flash strike at Ghatkopar and Mulund depots demanding a salary hike.
Protesters staged a flash protest at the Sambhaji Circle as a video of the desecrated Shivaji statue in the Bengaluru s communally sensitive Shivajinagar locality went viral on social media earlier on Friday.