The Maharashtra state government has reportedly decided to ply at least 1,200 Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses in Mumbai to replace the BEST buses.
Major worker unions for Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) employees, led by Shashank Rao's BEST Sanyukt Kamgaar Kruti Samiti (BSKKS), have now called for a "lockdown" or strike from today onwards, in view of the rising number of positive cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection amid BEST employees.
The strike is likely to create more trouble for Mumbai, the city already reeling with an ever-increasing number of COVID-19 cases because BEST buses are the only mode of public transportation that is presently operational in the city.
The BEST management has, however, said that the buses will operate for essential services personnel and there will not be any hindrances in the transport of essential workers. BSKKS, which called in the strike, has claimed that the staff was not being provided with enough safety measures to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
The BBSKKS has, inter alia, demanded a separate quarantine facility and a hospital for BEST workers. The organisation has also demanded that the government must pay Rs 1 crore as compensation and job for the next of kin of deceased employees.
It is to be noted that eight BEST workers have already died of COVID-19 and another 120 have tested positive so far. The BEST buses played an important role in the movement of essential services’ employees across Mumbai after the suspension of sub-urban trains services due to the coronavirus-necessitated nationwide lockdown.
Some reports claimed that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra state government has decided to ply at least 1,200 Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses in Mumbai to replace the BEST buses.
Maharashtra continues to be the epicenter of the coronavirus spread where the number of cases has witnessed an even large spike recently. According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with 33,053 positive cases of infection and 1,198 deaths.
Notably, Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, has become the hotbed of the coronavirus spread in the state where the number of cases has crossed the 20,000-mark and the death toll has topped the 730-mark as well. At 9:30 AM on this day, the COVID-19 tally in Mumbai showed 20,150 cases and 734 deaths. The city had reported as many as 1,571 cases on Sunday alone.
Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in India crossed the 96,000-mark on Monday, while the death toll has topped the 3,000-mark as well.
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak continues to spread like wildfire in India, the central and state governments are respectively amping up all of their efforts to check potential contamination.
The fresh guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have permitted the movement of public transport both within the state and between other states with mutual consent, more than 50 days since the nationwide lockdown was imposed to curb COVID-19 spread.
According to the central government's recent order, all activities will be allowed in green, orange, red, and buffer zones, except the ones "specifically prohibited". The entire range of products on online shopping sites are now open for all citizens, irrespective of them residing in red, orange, green, or buffer zones, with the sole exception of containment zones, where e-commerce activity has still not been permitted.
MHA has also ordered the opening of salons and barbershops in all zones except containment zones. Earlier, salons were only allowed in green and orange zones. However, salons in shopping malls are still prohibited from operating.
As India enters its fourth phase of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-necessitated nationwide lockdown starting today till May 31, new guidelines issued by the central government pertaining to Lockdown 4.0 have been enforced. States/UTs and district authorities are taking the call on classifying and mapping red, orange, green, containment, and buffer zones.
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