BEST Wet Lease Bus Staff Go On Flash Strike In Mumbai

14 Jan 2025 CW Team

The contractual employees of a private operator hired by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking went on a flash strike at one of the depots in Mumbai early Monday morning, partially affecting the BEST bus services. While BEST did not disclose the reason for the strike, sources said it was triggered by the alleged mistreatment of a pregnant woman conductor by officials of the private operator.

A BEST official said the services were affected on a few routes as the strike was limited to the Pratiksha Nagar depot, while a union leader claimed more than 100 buses of the private operator remained off the road.

Notably, BEST, which operates nearly 3,000 buses and serves more than 30 lakh passengers daily, has been without a general manager for more than a week.

An additional commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently holding charge of the position.

BEST public relations officer Sudas Sawant told PTI that employees of the wet lease operator Mateshwari were on strike over their demands, leading to buses on some routes to remain off the road.

He also said the strike was limited to the Pratiksha Nagar depot, and bus operations at the other BEST depots were unaffected.

BEST employees union leader Suhas Samant said Mateshwari operates 110 buses from the Pratiksha Nagar depot, and none of them were running since the strike began in the morning Mateshwari officials could not be reached for comments on the matter.

Under the wet lease model, private operators take care of the maintenance of buses and salaries of drivers.

Resources

13 May 2026

Anant Raj Appoints Anish Sarin as Director

Anant Raj has appointed Anish Sarin as Director on its Board, marking a key step in the company’s leadership transition and long-term growth strategy. The announcement was made during the company’s Q4 and FY26 results declaration, reflecting the induction of next-generation leadership as the company expands across real estate, cloud infrastructure and data centre businesses. Anish Sarin, grandson of veteran industrialist Ashok Sarin, represents the emerging leadership at Anant Raj. Educated at Regent’s University London, he brings a global business outlook along with a strong focus on t..

Vedanta eyes AI-led value growth

Vedanta Group expects to unlock USD 300–400 million in additional value over the next three years through large-scale deployment of AI-led industrial technologies across its businesses. The group said its V-Spark DeepTech Ventures platform has already delivered nearly four times return on investment since inception.Vedanta is scaling AI, predictive analytics, Industrial Internet of Things, digital twins, machine learning, automation and connected manufacturing technologies across its metals, mining, energy and industrial operations. These deployments are aimed at improving productivity, lowe..

Hindustan Zinc inks pact with Group Nirmal

Hindustan Zinc has signed an MoU with Group Nirmal to set up a zinc wire manufacturing facility at its Zinc Industrial Park in Khankhala, Bhilwara district, Rajasthan. The partnership will expand downstream manufacturing activity and support value-added zinc applications in India.Under the agreement, Group Nirmal will manufacture zinc wire products using Hindustan Zinc’s Special High Grade zinc. The products will cater to infrastructure, renewable energy, automotive and industrial engineering sectors.Zinc wire is used in thermal spray coating and metallising processes to protect steel struct..