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ShareMumbai: For those of you who haven't been able to travel on the Bandra-Worli sea link for lack of a suitable vehicle, here is some news to cheer you up. BEST buses may soon ply on the 4.7km engineering marvel.
VS Nagaonkar, BEST officer on special duty, wrote a letter to Jayant Mhaiskar, managing director of Mumbai Entry Point Ltd (MEPL), in September, seeking the company's nod to ply buses on the sea link.
"We are ready to ply BEST buses for a toll of Rs3,000 a month per bus," said the letter, a copy of which is with DNA.
MEPL, however, is waiting for a nod from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
"No buses are seen on the link as we are awaiting a nod from the MSRDC," Mhaiskar said. "Since we are already making losses, we would need the MSRDC to give us a hand in case of the BEST as well."
A senior MSRDC official said the corporation will soon take a decision on the issue. "It will be difficult for the MSRDC to compensate the losses made by the toll operator," the official said. "Since the government notification says the monthly pass for buses must be Rs5,000 per mensem per vehicle, we have to follow it. But the toll operator can give any concession bearing the risk of a loss."
BEST general manager Uttam Khobragade said, "We have offered a rate of Rs3,000. If the toll operator agrees, what is MSRDC's problem? We will not change our offer."
