Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 15 (ANI): The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought response from all the parties in connection with the ongoing indefinite strike by BEST employees here.

The high court asked all the parties to decide about the ongoing BEST strike till 11 am on Wednesday and inform the court about their decision.

The lawyer representing BEST also said that BEST is ready to give 10 step increments to employees which will be implemented from February 2019.

Mumbai's civic transport, comprising a workforce of 32,000 people, has been demanding the merger of BEST budget with 'A' budget of BMC. They are also seeking resolution of the issue of employee service residences and recruitment. When the talks with the authorities failed, the employees resorted to the strike.

In the wake of the ongoing strike, locals in Mumbai are forced to bear the brunt of higher fares as they now have to opt for a private taxi or an auto-rickshaw to commute. Moreover, rides to busy areas such as Churchgate, Lower Parel, BKC, Andheri, and Goregaon are costing more than the rest of the places. BEST, the lifeline of Mumbai has a fleet size of as many as 3,200 buses. It the second largest transport system in the metropolis after local trains which ferry more than 70 lakh commuters on a daily basis. (ANI)

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