Mumbai: A fire broke out in the battery box of a BEST electric bus at Chembur Camp near Kalimata Mandir and the RCF Monorail Station around 8.11 am on Sunday. The fire was extinguished by 9.34 am. No injuries were reported.
Mumbai Fire Brigade, police, BEST, and ward staff were deployed at the spot.
The incident comes at a critical juncture as BEST plans a massive expansion, intending to induct nearly 5,000 electric buses through wet-lease operators alongside another 5,000 self-owned electric buses.
If staff and commuters had not been alert in time, it could have turned into an absolute disaster,” Nandgaonkar said. The fire incident raised serious questions over commuter safety and maintenance standards of wet-lease buses operated by BEST. “The battery fire in Chembur is shocking. Commuter advocates now insist that passenger safety cannot be compromised for fleet targets.
Raising the alarm, BEST committee member Nitin Nandgaonkar (Shiv Sena UBT) on Sunday warned that the incident exposes the grave risks passengers face daily.