Land of Lime

This can happen only in Mysore. And also the story can appear only in my favorite newspaper, the Star of Mysore. I don’t know when this story would be taken down and so let me reproduce it here.

KSRTC BUS PASSENGERS STRANDED IN FOREST, RECKLESS DRIVERS

Traumatic experiences of the victims of a road mishap

Mysore, Nov. 2 (KMC)- How would you like to be the passenger of a vehicle that has met with an accident and you are stranded in the middle of a dense forest infested with wild elephants, having no means of calling for help as the cellphones have no network coverage in that area?

Well, that is exactly what happened to the passengers of a KSRTC bus travelling from Mysore to Virajpet this morning.

The green coloured bus, speeding down the slope about a kilometre away from the Ane-chowkoor Check Post, narrowly missed the Bangalore-bound red-coloured KSRTC bus, which was also speeding towards the narrow culvert, a few metres away from the dilapidated bridge.

Though the green bus had its headlights on as a sign of distress as it approached the culvert, the driver of the red bus, instead of slowing down, further stepped on the accelerator and swerved a little into the road to avoid the culvert. The driver of the green bus pulled away towards his left, causing the front left wheel to get caught in a ditch, the bus coming to halt with a nasty jolt and in a slant position, surely causing injuries to the passengers. The time was 6.50 am and the dense mist hampered visibility. Had the driver not brought the bus to a halt at the roadside ditch, the bus surely would have turned turtle on the steep road’s edge just a few feet away, killing and maiming many of its passengers.

The red bus (KA-01, F-7450) that was on its way to Mysore, did not stop after the mishap, though all the passengers had seen the sorry plight of the other bus. In fact, a couple of them also approached the driver, questioning his inhumane act. In reply, they were bluntly told by the driver Shantharaju that his bus was untouched and that the mishap was a minor one which was not his concern at all.

“What if some of those passengers were your near and dear ones?” they asked of Shantha-raju, who curtly told the passengers to mind their own business.

The issue here is not about which driver is at fault, but about the safety of the passengers who are at the mercy of such arrogant and reckless KSRTC drivers. Because of their job-security and the general tendency of officials to cover up the faults of their own subordinates, most KSRTC staff are audacious in their attitude towards passengers, not fearing of any disciplinary or legal action, in the present inert system.

The other issue is the pathetic condition of the road between Hunsur and Gonikoppa, passing through the Nagarahole Forest. Imagine the plight of those getting stranded under such circumstances in the night.

The bridge near the checkpost had been declared unsafe by the PWD a few years ago itself and a temporary bypass was constructed. But the bypass road, being washed away by the incessant rains, is not usable at all and the dilapidated bridge, on which thousands of heavy vehicles traverse every day, appears like ready to cave in any moment.

Does the government need to act only after a disaster has occurred, at a time when they could be prevented by timely action?

Again, no commentary necessary.