Coronavirus cases in the city of Mumbai have been increasing and observing the rise, the state government has decided to implement lockdown until the end of October 2020. Currently, only selected services have been given permission under the unlock 5.0 guidelines, and the local train services are also running only for workers from the emergency services.
Public across the city has been using BEST and State Transport (ST) buses to commute in the city, and for the last few months, officials have risked their lives to ensure the services are functional. Amidst this, several MSRTC employees were also infected with the coronavirus, and as per reports, several have passed away, and over 400 ST drivers who were operating the buses and bringing people to Mumbai are facing major inconveniences in the city.
It is said that the corporation has not been able to arrange two meals and a place to rest for the employees, due to which, the staff had to spend the night on the streets. As per the demand in these times, over 400 employees reached Mumbai from different areas of Satara-Sangli division, and as per requests, they reached Mumbai Central and the ST headquarters. However, they were later shifted to Santa Cruz and Bandra, but upon reaching there, employees found no proper arrangements for accommodation and meals. Because of this, they had to spend two nights on the street and eat in the open, with the risk of infecting coronavirus.
Over 100 more buses have arrived in Mumbai from Pune, Satara, Solapur, Ahmednagar and Sangli divisions. Besides this, officials are running more services from areas of Raigad and Nashik, and the same is being facilitated due to increasing demands. Records state that the BEST administration has requested ST Corporation for 1000 vehicles till October 16, 2020, and at present, over 700 buses have reached the city. Around 300 more will be scheduled soon.
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