Annually, BEST has been taking short term loans amounting to Rs 2,400 crore, only to pay off their loans and other bills. The parent organisation, BMC, has clearly stated its reluctance to bail BEST out from its financial woes.
The BEST Undertaking is a 112-year-old organisation that has been ferrying Mumbaikars on its bus fleet and supplying electricity to consumers for decades. However, over the years, BEST has been crippled with rising losses and debt. It has sustained losses to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore so far, which are only expected to amplify over the next few months.
Annually, BEST has been taking short term loans amounting to Rs 2,400 crore, only to pay off their loans and other bills. The parent organisation, BMC, has clearly stated its reluctance to bail BEST out from its financial woes.
Rather than seeking assistance from the BMC, it is time the BEST administration introspects state of affairs under their watch. Much of BEST's problems have been brought upon it by itself, and spring from questionable decisions taken by the undertaking.
The men running the show at BEST agree they are in dire straits despite selling their bus depots to private players and real estate developers; deciding not to buy new buses and instead planning to get them on a wet-lease or rental basis; giving away every part of their assets to generate revenue. Planners within BEST have failed to properly exploit acres of land in prime locations of Mumbai.
One of the biggest blunders committed by BEST was to get so-called Kinglong air conditioned buses from China, which later turned out to be manufactured in Chandigarh. The dismal quality of these buses resulted in a drastic drop in daily passenger turnout from 40 lakh to 30 lakh now.
The buses delivered were of inferior quality, and the administration termed them 'white elephants'. Rather than any fresh misadventures, BEST should get its act straight by concentrating on upping its ridership by improving the quality of its services, with a focus on increased frequency and punctuality of its buses.
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