Forty-one BEST buses ply on roads

Mumbai, Apr 20 (UNI) About40 BEST buses were plying on roads from different BEST depots includes Colaba, Backaway, Wadala and Worli in the metropolis in view of the ongoing strike.

BEST's PRO N A Walwalkar said 41 buses were running on the roads compared to five to six buses yesterday. However, he said he did not know how many employees' had resumed their duty today.

Talking about the termination, Mr Walwalkar said the management has already given a public notice. ''The deadline for resuming duty has been extended till midnight. The action of termination of service would be taken from tomorrow morning against the employees who have taken parts in the strike,'' he said.

He said some private bus operators are also running their buses locally for passengers.

Meanwhile, BEST Workers Union General Secretary Sharad Rao said that the employees will not go back to work till their demand of pay revision was accepted by the BEST management. ''We do not want any oral assurances, we want everything in black and white,'' he added.

Over 35,000 BEST employees began a 72-hour strike from Wednesday midnight, seeking further hike in their wages and improvement in its working conditions.

UNI