An electric double-decker bus to be inducted by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in Colaba on Thursday.

The breeze on the face of passengers on the upper deck of Mumbai’s famed double-decker buses will be a thing of the past as the electric ones set to be introduced by BEST are air-conditioned with a giant windscreen playing spoilsport for many old-timers.

However, several other transport enthusiasts who have been using the conventional double-decker for years said that the breeze apart, the view would be better with bigger windows.

Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle division of Ashok Leyland, unveiled the country’s first electric double-decker AC bus in Mumbai on Thursday.

These 65-seater buses will replace the existing double-decker fleet of the civic-run undertaking, officials said.

“As a child I used to love sitting in the front-row seats. The view, the breeze and the branches of trees brushing past used to give me a rush. I used to leave my grandmother’s arm and run to get these seats on the upper deck. It will be missed in the new buses,” said architect Vivek Pai.

Priest assaulted

Gonda (Uttar Pradesh): The priest of the Prithvinath temple, which houses the country’s biggest Shivling, was assaulted by at least 14 people who also snatched money, police said on Thursday.

Seven of the 14 against whom a case of assault and loot was registered have been arrested so far, the police said.

Priest Dayashankar, a resident of Narayanpur Khas village, told journalists that on Wednesday evening 14 people, including women, attacked him and three other priests inside the temple and took away donation money.

PTI