Struck down

Twin strikes led to BEST and WR services grinding to a halt yesterday, nearly taking the city down with them

For thousands of Mumbaikars, yesterday was one of those days when everything that could go wrong, did.


Thousands of commuters were left to fend for themselves
when Western Railway services were disrupted between
4.30 pm and 6.30 pm

The double whammy of a BEST strike, which began at midnight, and a flash strike by Western Railway motormen in the afternoon left the city's lifelines crippled, leaving harrowed officegoers to fend for themselves on their way home.

While most BEST buses stayed off the road between 12 am and 6 pm, Western Railway services were disrupted almost completely between 4.30 pm and 6 pm.

However, despite both strikes being called off when the evening rush hour began, services took a while to limp back to normalcy, causing inconvenience to people returning home from office.

Complaining about the BEST strike, Madhav Jaisingh, a commuter, said, "Common people are suffering because of the strike, not the government or the authorities. We have been forced to walk long distances in pouring rain."

A visibly upset Sharmila Nair, who waited for more than an hour at Churchgate station, said, "I was already frustrated with my bad experience in the morning because of the bus strike and the motormen's strike has just rubbed salt on my wounds. I don't understand why are we the ones who always suffer."

Cause
Nearly 20,000 BEST employees, including drivers and conductors, participated in the strike, which was aimed at the speedy implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission.

A staff member of BEST (transport department) from Sewree bus depot, said, "We are not happy about striking but we, too, have families to take care of. How are we to fill our stomachs in these inflationary times if our salaries are not increased?"

127 buses were reportedly damaged during the strike by angry commuters, who pelted stones at them. Two conductors and six passengers were injured in the fracas.

As the day progressed, an entire batch of motormen from the Western Railway's crucial evening shift decided to go on a strike around 4.30 pm.


And, with no buses in sight either, many had no choice but to walk home

Around 3 pm, approximately 70 motormen called in sick.

According to sources, they refused to show up for work to protest against the dismissal of their colleague Milkiyat Singh, who was found guilty of injuring passengers a few months back.
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Passengers and railway sources confirmed that train services on the western line were disrupted almost completely for more than an hour and a half.

Voices

What do these government servants get by harassing us? Every time they have a problem, they go on strike without considering its fallout on the city. This is not the first time that this has happened and it won't be the last. What are we to do now?
Atul Jalpur, train commuter

It was my third day of college and, looking at the crowd in buses and trains and the traffic jam on the roads, I am wondering how I will get home. I reached college late in the morning as well, thanks to the BEST strike. Why did both strikes have to happen today?
Madhura Rao, FYJC student from Ruia College

The Other Side
O P Gupta, general manager, BEST, said, "Staff members had called for a bandh. However, it has been called off and all the buses are back on the roads.

Only 15 per cent of the staff had participated in the walkout."

Sharat Chandrayan, chief PRO, Western Railway, said, "We had to cancel 25 trains and services were affected for an hour, between 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm.

However, the issue has been solved and services will run as scheduled from tomorrow."