MUMBAI, June 23 -- A day after the BEST strike, which started on Friday, was called off, 15% to 20% of the buses were still off the roads. Union leaders explained that it was normal practice for staffers to not join work immediately after a strike. Operational data released by BEST on Monday morning showed that services were still recovering. At 8am, only 165 of the 188 scheduled BEST-owned buses had left their depots, while 835 of the 1,454 scheduled BEST drivers and 1,325 of the 2,198 conductors had reported for duty. Similarly, only 178 of the 212 scheduled bus starters and 139 of the 206 inspectors were present. The situation improved by 10 am, but services remained below normal levels. Out of 220 scheduled BEST buses, only 198 were on the road. Driver attendance rose to 1,244 against a scheduled strength of 1,983, while 1,885 conductors reported for duty against a requirement of 2,926. Attendance among starters and inspectors improved to 218 and 157 respectively, compared to scheduled strengths of 254 and 228. Wet-lease operators, who run a large portion of BEST's fleet, also reported incomplete deployment. At 10 am, only 1,649 of the 2,516 scheduled wet-lease buses were operational. Driver attendance stood at 1,209 against a requirement of 3,033, while only 288 of the 902 scheduled conductors had reported for duty. At 6pm, BEST's scheduled bus turnout was 2,766 buses, of which 1,863 buses were on the road, achieving an overall turnout of 67.35%. Among BEST-owned buses, 198 buses operated against a scheduled 249, chalking up a turnout of 79.52%. Among wet-lease buses, 1,665 buses were operational against a scheduled 2,517, recording a turnout of 66.15%. Overall, the bus service turnout remained below the scheduled strength despite the gradual restoration of operations. By Monday evening, union leaders met BEST staffers at Parel, where a long meeting took place. "It was mainly to let them know what had transpired at the meeting with the government authorities," said Uday Ambonkar, convenor of the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti. "Our demands on merging BEST's budget with the BMC's was agreed to."...