Due to the incessant rainfall lashing over the maximum city since Tuesday, as many as 62 buses of the BrihanMumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking reported engine breakdown on Wednesday and Thursday.
The buses broke down in the middle of the road after being stuck at waterlogged areas of the city for long durations. On Wednesday, a total of 33 buses had broken down on duty. On Thursday evening, a total of 29 buses were reported to be broken down.
"The buses broke down after being stuck in waterlogged areas for longer hours. Most parts of Mumbai went under water, which hampered the engines of the buses badly," BEST spokesperson, Manoj Varade, told the Free Press Journal.
Amongst the buses that broke down, there were a number of mini buses as well, which the BEST undertaking procured last year on wet lease and has been operating in point-to-point routes.
"It was not only the conventional BEST buses that broke down. The engines of some of the mini and midi buses were also affected. The buses have been taken to workshops and their damages are being presently assessed," stated Varade.
"The water levels escalated severely yesterday. Many of the buses got damaged because they were operating in low lying areas of the island city, which got severely affected," said a BEST maintenance engineer.
The undertaking has also operated 10 per cent less buses due to the rains. BEST, which usually is running 3,100 buses daily, had pressed 2,800 buses on Thursday.
