Bharat Bandh live updates: BEST, trade union strikes hit common man hard

Responding to a call given by their union leaders, the agitating staff did not take out any bus from all 27 depots on Tuesday, even as the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) administration and an industrial court declared the strike as "illegal"

The BEST has a fleet of over 3,200-red-colour buses which criss-cross the metropolis and also operate services in the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai. It is the second-biggest mode of transport in Mumbai after local trains, which ferry over 80-lakh passengers every day

Banking operations Tuesday have been affected in some parts of the country as a section of employees refrained from work in support of the two-day strike call given by 10 central trade unions to protest against alleged anti-labour policies of the government. All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees' Federation of India (BEFI) have supported the strike, which has impacted banking operation where these two unions are strong. However, the operation in SBI and private sector banks remained unaffected as other seven unions in the banking sector are not part of the strike.

BEST buses have gone off the road from early Tuesday morning following an indefinite strike call was given by the workers' union. Of the 1,812 buses scheduled for morning service at 27 bus depots during early peak hours, not a single bus left the depot this morning, a BEST spokesperson told mid-day. The strike had badly affected the city’s over 35 lakh commuters, including office-goers and students.

Mumbai: Bus services affected at the CSMT due to the indefinite strike by BEST(Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply&Transport) over demands of implementation of the merger of the BEST budget with principal budget of the BMC, employee service residences etc. pic.twitter.com/SXlTfiZDeB

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2019