In the absence of local trains, BEST has been running services to ferry essential staff of the BMC and hospitals, and at times even transporting patients and supplies as per requirement
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Essential services may collapse from Monday, if the call given by the BEST Undertaking's biggest trade union for a complete lockdown of its services, comes into effect. With the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases in the undertaking, seven deaths so far and an "unresponsive management", the Shashank Sharad Rao-led BEST Sanyukta Kamgar Kruti Samiti (BSKKS) on Thursday said enough was enough, asking its employees to follow a complete lockdown from Monday.
In the absence of local trains, BEST has been running services to ferry essential staff of the BMC and hospitals, and at times even transporting patients and supplies as per requirement. BEST buses have also been pressed into service at railway stations and the airport .
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'Administration remains callous'
"We will follow the chief minister's appeal and stay safe at home. The number of positive cases are rising and could soon touch 100. There have been seven deaths and the administration remains callous. The BEST Undertaking has been arm-twisting employees. They call them for duty, do not provide proper equipment and protection and make them work in dangerous conditions. Recently, notices were sent to employees who did not resume work. All this is unfair. Hence we have decided to call for a lockdown," Rao told mid-day.
While General Manager Surendra Bagade did not respond to calls, the BEST spokesperson said they were doing everything in their capacity to protect employees. "We are setting up screens for drivers' cabins where the driver and conductor can sit, in addition to providing face shields to all our employees," BEST spokesperson Manoj Varade said.
Another trade union, BEST Kamgar Sanghatana, had organised a 'Demand Day' on April 21 seeking safety of working employees, appealing to the undertaking to ensure proper safety of all the work force and to stop issuing notices to all those who were absent, but there had been no visible differences after that, they alleged.
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