The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses have been ferrying passengers amid the lockdown in Mumbai. In order to safeguard its employees, the BEST Corporation has provided its bus drivers with full protective gear from this weekend. The move by the transport wing has been introduced after many of the drivers have to transport citizens to quarantine centres or containment zones.
However, a section of drivers and union leaders have demanded medical insurance as well for the drivers. They have asked the transport wing to provide the drivers with financial protection for their families as well, in case they die due to COVID-19.
BEST Employees' Union president Nitin Patil told that the Pune civic body had recently announced insurance for workers other than medical staff, which included their bus drivers. "We demand that the BMC also announce a Rs 1 crore medical insurance for all bus drivers, conductors, inspectors and other staffers who are on the frontline in Mumbai," said Patil.
Assuring the safety of their drivers, a senior BEST official said that no driver was at 'high risk' since they were not ferrying any COVID-19 patients.
Earlier, the BMC had announced 200 hotspots across the city where the virus needs to be controlled. The Parel and Mumbai Central depots of State Transport come under two of the hotspots, leaving the employees vulnerable as they ferry essential employees.
To make sure that they are safe, the ST Employees' Congress had demanded a daily health checkup for the staff members along with daily thermal screening. They argued that unlike the doctors, they don't possess Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to safeguard themselves from the virus.
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