BEST members threaten to stall committee meeting

The schedule, operational for a four month period, has assigned duties which span between 10 to 12 hours to around 6, 000 of the total 30, 000 drivers and conductors.

In a move that will affect approval of proposals concerning commuters and supply users, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking committee members from Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threatened to stall committee meetings if the administration fails to reinstate 12 suspended employees, who are affiliates of the two political unions.

BEST suspended the employees, who are conductors and drivers, after they prevented some of their colleagues from assuming duties outside Dindoshi bus depot in Goregaon Monday. They reportedly burned effigies and conducted a mock cremation of some of their colleagues who had assumed duties. The union members were protesting against the duty schedule prepared by a Canadian company Trapeze, alleging that the computer based software has increased duty time of drivers and conductors to 12

“If you do not reinstate the suspended employees by the next meeting, we will not let the committee meeting take place,” threatened Sunil Ganacharya from Shiv Sena.

The schedule, operational for a four month period, has assigned duties which span between 10 to 12 hours to around 6, 000 of the total 30, 000 drivers and conductors.

According to the Motor Transport Vehicle Act the steering duty should not be more than eight hours in a 12-hour stretch and the maximum steering time at a stretch should not be more than five hours.

The new system has allotted multiple routes to some drivers and conductors, which the unions allege is tiring and confusing.

The General Manager said, “Duty schedules were prepared to ensure that employees work for eight hours with adequate rest time. We will look into the issue and sort them.”

BEST debars contractor for supply of ‘substandard’ batteries

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MUMBAI: Taking note of allegations of ‘substandard’ equipment provided by one of its regular suppliers, the BEST Undertaking decided Tuesday to issue a notice to Ajay Plates and Battery Products and debar it from supplying batteries to the Undertaking for an unspecified period. The committee rejected the clearance of a tender of 5, 018 batteries worth Rs.2.40 crores that was tabled before it on Tuesday, after Om Prakash Gupta, General Manager, BEST announced that the contractor would be issued a notice. Reacting to the decision, Dinesh Srivastav, a partner in Ajay Plates and Battery Products said, “We will consider our legal options if BEST tries to debar us. These allegations are baseless.” The contractor had been awarded 70 per cent of the total 7,438 lead-acid based batteries in the tender that was opened on June 5 2013.

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