HT Salutes: BEST employee defeats Covid-19, resumes duty 4 days before retirement

Shinde, who is to retire on May 31, wanted to spend his last few days at work in the city’s iconic red bus where he worked for 31 years

With just a few days left for his retirement, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking employee Ramchandra Shinde who was tested positive of Covid-19 on May 8, returned to work after recovering from the disease.

Ramchandra Shinde (HT Photo)

After testing positive, he was shifted to a hotel in Kurla from his residence in Ghatkopar’s Asalpha. He was discharged two weeks later on May 22 when his superiors told him to take another 14 days rest. But Shinde did not want to do that.

Shinde, who is to retire on May 31, wanted to spend his last few days at work in the city’s iconic red bus where he worked for 31 years.

“I requested my superiors to let me resume on duty. I would have been really disappointed if I did not get a chance to retire while I was on duty,” said Shinde, who will be resuming work on Thursday at 5.30 am at the Marol depot, where he was posted for the last three decades. He was working at the depot till May 5 before testing positive.

While he has worked as a conductor for the most part of his service, he was promoted as a ticket-checker in 2013.

Shinde developed a fever on May 7. He was advised to get tested the next day when he and his wife, 54-year-old Heena Shinde also tested positive.

“I was really scared. My wife was admitted to the hospital and I was quarantined in a hotel,” Shinde said. Till date, more than 160 BEST employees have been tested positive, of which more than 100 have recovered, however, nine employees have died.

Those who retire from the BEST service are usually felicitated at the depot on the last day but Shinde said he would miss out on that owing to the lockdown.

Rajendra Madne, additional general manager, BEST said, “Be it terror attacks, floods or a pandemic, BEST has employees like Shinde who are completely dedicated to their job. He has four days left to retire but he still wants to work for those four days. The younger generation must learn from people like him.”