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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Hostage City

For a city that prides itself on never stopping, Mumbai has been brought to a grinding halt by the stoppage of one of its most indispensable services. The indefinite strike by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has effectively paralysed the city’s bus network, leaving millions of commuters stranded and exposing deep fissures in the management of one of India’s largest urban transport systems. BEST ferries around 25 lakh passengers daily through a...

Hostage City

For a city that prides itself on never stopping, Mumbai has been brought to a grinding halt by the stoppage of one of its most indispensable services. The indefinite strike by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has effectively paralysed the city’s bus network, leaving millions of commuters stranded and exposing deep fissures in the management of one of India’s largest urban transport systems. BEST ferries around 25 lakh passengers daily through a fleet of nearly 2,800 buses. Yet over the past three days, the city has witnessed the near-total collapse of this network. On the first day of the strike, only a few dozen buses operated. By the weekend, not a single BEST-owned or wet-lease bus was on the roads. Local trains, Metro services, taxis and autorickshaws have been forced to absorb the shock and are predictably straining under the burden. The strike may be illegal under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), and the industrial court may have ordered employees back to work. Yet laws and court orders cannot substitute for sound governance. When a public utility reaches the point where thousands of workers are willing to risk disciplinary action and legal consequences, it signals a failure that predates the strike itself. The demands raised by the unions are hardly new. Employees have long sought implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, settlement of retirement dues, an end to contractualisation and the merger of the BEST budget with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Whether one agrees with every demand is beside the point. What is striking is that these issues have been allowed to fester for years without a credible roadmap for resolution. Equally troubling is the government’s reactive approach. Ministers and officials rushed into negotiations only after services collapsed and public inconvenience reached intolerable levels. Such crisis management has become a familiar feature of governance. The unions, too, must recognise the wider consequences of their actions. Public transport is the bloodstream of a city. Every day the strike continues, daily wage earners lose income and ordinary citizens bear higher travel costs. The disruption disproportionately hurts those who can least afford alternatives. Holding Mumbai hostage may attract attention to legitimate grievances, but also risks eroding public sympathy. Mumbai has spent years celebrating new Metro corridors, coastal roads and grand infrastructure projects. Yet the humble bus remains the most affordable and accessible mode of transport for millions. Policymakers often treat BEST as an ageing institution to be managed rather than a vital public service to be strengthened. The increasing reliance on contract workers and wet-lease operations may reduce immediate costs, but also weakens institutional stability and labour relations. A city of Mumbai’s scale cannot afford a public transport system perpetually balanced on the edge of financial distress, labour unrest and administrative uncertainty. Nor can it depend on emergency measures whenever disputes arise.

BJP records highest vote share of 26.77 per cent

  • PTI
  • Nov 25, 2024
  • 2 min read

NCP (SP) loses seats but bags more votes than NCP


BJP

Mumbai: The BJP logged the highest vote share of 26.77 per cent in the Maharashtra assembly elections, winning 132 out of 149 seats it had contested and garnering 17,293,650 votes, as per ECI data.


The BJP's 132-seat haul marked a hat-trick of crossing the 100-seat mark in assembly elections. The saffron party had bagged 122 seats in the 2014 elections, which it contested solo without undivided Shiv Sena, and 105 seats in 2019 polls which it faced with the former ally Shiv Sena on its side.


The BJP's stellar performance at Maharashtra hustings, results of which were declared on Saturday, saw the party reaping a rich harvest of 132 seats in the 288-member House. Its Mahayuti partners Shiv Sena and NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.


The Congress, which won only 16 out of 101 seats it had contested, came a distant second with a 12.42 per cent vote share. The Grand Old Party polled 8,020,921 votes.


The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's tally of 57 seats out of 81 it had contested saw a vote share of 12.38 per cent and 7,996,930 votes.


Interestingly, the vote share of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the quantum of votes polled for the party surpassed the rival NCP faction despite the former's rout in the elections.


The NCP (SP) contested 86 seats but won only 10 with an 11.28 per cent vote share and 7,287,797 votes.


In contrast, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP registered a 9.01 per cent vote share despite winning 41 of the 59 seats it had contested and polling 5,816,566 votes.


The rival Shiv Sena (UBT), which won 20 seats, logged a vote share of 9.96 per cent and polled 6,433,013 votes.


At 4,61,886, NOTA votes dropped to 0.72 per cent in Maharashtra.

A voter turnout of 66.05 per cent was recorded for the state assembly elections held on November 20, up from 61.1 per cent in 2019, according to Election Commission officials.

-PTI

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