Employees of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), one of India’s largest bus fleets in the country, have called a strike from Tuesday morning to press for their pending demands close on the heels of Ganpati festival. The corporation has been preparing to operate a record number of 5,000 additional buses for the festival this year. As of Monday afternoon, 4,953 additional buses for the Konkan region had been fully booked between September 3 and September 7, with 4,200 group bookings in place.

To keep traffic and services moving in the backdrop of the strike, the MSRTC administration is also considering the appointment of drivers and other necessary employees on long-term contract basis from Wednesday. Late in the evening, the industrial court declared the MSRTC workers’ strike as illegal, directing all employees to resume work as early as possible.