Mumbai, January 9: As the indefinite strike by BEST employees entered the second day on Wednesday, the Central Railway announced extra train services to help commuters, who were largely hit by the protest on Tuesday. According to a tweet by ANI, the Central Rail CPRO said in view of BEST buses strike, Mumbai Division will run extra sub-services. On the main line, the extra train will depart from Thane at 13.44 hrs (1.44 PM) & arrive at CSMT at 14.40 hrs (2.40 PM). Meanwhile, another special train will depart from CSMT at 14.49 hrs (2.49 PM) and will reach Kalyan at 16.15hrs (4.15). On the Harbour line, a train would depart from Vashi at 13.44 hrs (1.44 PM) and will reach CSMT at 14.32 hrs (2.32 PM) while one will depart from CSMT at 14.45 hrs (2.45 PM ) and reach Panvel at 16.05 hrs (4.05 PM). BEST Bus Strike in Mumbai: 25 Lakh Commuters to be Affected as Red Buses to Go off Roads.

Due to the ongoing strike, around 25 lakh passengers who travel by 3000 BEST buses that ply on streets of Mumbai every day were affected on Tuesday. According to reports, over 33,000 BEST employees went on an indefinite strike since January 7 over their long-pending demands. The demands include higher wages, paralysing bus services and causing inconvenience to nearly 25-lakh daily commuters. Bharat Bandh, Bank Strike on January 8, 9.

Their demands also include fixation at a master grade of employees employed after 2007, merging BEST budget with ‘A’ budget of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) & resolving the issue of employee service residences.

Reports inform that the BEST management had declared the strike illegal and issued internal circulars warning staffers of strict action if they proceeded with it. On Tuesday, amid the strike, the BEST did not take out any bus from all 27 depots, even as the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) administration and an industrial court declared the strike as "illegal".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2019 09:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).