BEST Bus Strike in Mumbai Latest News: List of Areas Most Affected

Mumbai, June 19: Thousands of commuters across Mumbai faced severe travel disruptions on Friday morning after an umbrella body of 12 employee unions launched an indefinite strike against the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. Despite an industrial court restraint and the state government invoking the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), thousands of workers stayed off the job, leaving the vast majority of the city's 2,766-bus fleet stranded inside depots.

Key Areas and Commuter Hubs Affected

The strike heavily impacted last-mile connectivity from major transit points, leading to massive crowds and long queues for auto-rickshaws and taxis. The primary areas experiencing significant disruption include:

• Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC): As Mumbai’s premier business district, BKC saw immediate tension. BEST deployed over a dozen additional buses on dedicated routes connecting Kurla West, Bandra Station East, and Bandra Terminus to mitigate the impact on corporate office-goers.

• Dharavi: Serving as the central flashpoint of the strike, the Dharavi depot saw large-scale employee demonstrations, prompting the deployment of heavy police forces to maintain law and order.

• Kurla & Bandra: Commuter routes linking residential pockets to central and western railway stations were severely hit, with local depots reporting operations coming to a near-total standstill.

• South Mumbai & Eastern Suburbs: Beyond bus transit, the strike threatens to affect the power supply division managed by BEST, which serves over one million consumers across South Mumbai. Why Are BEST Employees on Strike? Key Demands Behind Mumbai’s Transport Disruption.

Core Demands Driving the Protest

The BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, the action committee leading the agitation, stated that the indefinite strike was triggered by the administration's prolonged failure to resolve statutory and financial grievances.

Union leaders are demanding the immediate merger of the cash-strapped BEST budget with the primary budget of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to ensure long-term financial stability. Workers are also protesting against the increasing privatization of public transit, specifically opposing plans to redevelop bus depots under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model on 99-year leases.

Additional demands include the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations backdated for the 2016–2026 period, the clearance of unpaid gratuity and pension dues for workers retired since 2022, and the absorption of wet-leased contract drivers into the permanent workforce. Currently, only 243 of the city's 2,700 active buses are directly owned by the undertaking. Mumbai BEST Strike: Employees Announce Indefinite Walkout From Midnight Over Long-Pending Demands.

Legal Interventions and Current Status

The strike went ahead despite a late-Thursday ad-interim order from an industrial court legally restricting workers from participating in a cease-work protest. Transport officials have warned striking employees of strict legal action under MESMA guidelines.

Management-side union factions, including the largest individual union led by Shashank Sharad Rao, chose not to join the agitation, noting that separate dialogue with the administration remains open. However, protesting leaders argued that the strike became necessary after the management failed to initiate official dispute-resolution talks ahead of the union's announced deadline.

Local police continue to monitor all 27 city depots, as union representatives warn that the stir will continue indefinitely until concrete administrative actions are taken.