India, Oct. 22 -- While Mumbai dazzles in the festival of light, a familiar silhouette fades from its streets. The last of the BEST's 11-metre-long buses - one of 500 inducted in 2009 - is set to make its final journey on October 24.

Parked in the Malvani depot is this Mumbai warhorse, decked in faded grey livery with the words 'Safety Our Motto' emblazoned on its side. The bus is part of a batch procured by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2008-09.

Plying on route number 207 from Dahisar to Malvani, it was inducted 15 years ago into the Gorai depot under number '1942'. Under the JNNURM, 750 buses were added to the fleet, of which 5...