With the onset of the monsoons, the transport Air Jordan 13s body has been able to get only about 40 per cent of its vehicles cleaned and plying on Nashik roads.

The image of a clean and safe drive by the MSRTC has recently taken a hit with unclean buses plying on Nashik roads. Dirt, mud, spilt liquids and spit stains seem to characterise the Nashik MSRTC fleet of late.

A total of 990 MSRTC buses operate in Nashik district, plying within the city, in its 15 talukas and also on inter city routes. The total cleaning staff strength for this fleet stands at 92, under the MSRTC Kamgar Sanghatana. Since December 2012, however, the cleaning work is being carried out by only 67 personnel. The Sanghatana’s opposition against hiring new workers on a contract basis has only added to the problem.

The Jordan 1 Retro stench, to Air Jordan 2011 put it otherwise, arises out of a staff crunch that the transport body had brought upon itself in 2008. The primary reason for the transport body outsourcing these 25 posts was the work shift: cleaning can only be carried out in late evenings or at night, once buses are parked in depots. Given that 50% of the MSRTC’s cleaning workforce Air Jordan 17s comprised women, the job became veritably impossible. The MSRTC, on its end, had no choice but to outsource the job.

Out of a total of 92 posts for cleaning work, the Nashik MSRTC had frozen 25 seats for outsourced workers, resulting in protests by the bus workers’ union. With the contract for outsourced work expiring in December 2012, the Sanghatana is keenly protesting a renewal of outsourced work.

The twin Nashik depots, depot I and depot II cater to mofussil and city traffic respectively. Each runs 180 buses through 24 hours. Considering the daytime rush, these buses can only be cleaned at night. According to officials, during the day, only 40% of the buses come into the depot for external maintenance and a wash. At night, there are not enough workers to clean them.

Pramod Patil, MSRTC mechanical engineer, Nashik division, said that the situation was worsening by the day. “With the current manpower of seven to eight employees per depot, we are unable to wash Air Jordan Fusion 5 every bus. At the most, the buses can be swept. On an average, around 30 buses are washed every day in each of the two depots. This is taking a toll on cleanliness,” Patil said.

On the recruitment of the vacant posts, Patil cited pressure from the Sanghatana as the chief deterrent. “There was an attempt four months back to renew contracts, which was strongly opposed by the union members. The process was stopped,” Patil admitted.

Pramod Bhalekar, secretary, MSRTC Kamgar Sanghatana, reiterated the union’s stand against handing over cleaning work on a contractual basis. Asked if the union had given other alternatives to the MSRTC for efficient cleaning of its vehicles, Bhalekar said the transport body was already using 67 employees to achieve its target, and that the MSRTC should de freeze the posts and fill in the vacancies to “achieve better results”.

Meanwhile, admitting a basic lack of civic sense among commuters, Vilas Deole of the Nashik Zilla Grahak Panchayat emphasised how unclean buses “only encourages passengers to add to the filth.” “People should get their money’s worth when they board a government run vehicle: dirt is not part of that bargain,” Deole said.

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