Pune Mayhem—The Killer Bus!

People die in natural disasters, bomb blasts, madmen firings, accidents of all kinds including the weirdest ones, road rages and so on. They keep on dying almost on a daily routine. Yet, there is no end to the puzzle of ‘how they are going to die next’. What happened in Pune, a cultured, peaceful and lively city of Maharashtra, today is another example in continuing with that ominous puzzle.

One normal driver reported for duty in the morning at the state transport corporation terminus in Pune and was scheduled for a trip. Everything progressing normally, apparently with no hidden surprises. And suddenly…mayhem!

The driver took hold of the empty bus and went berserk. He drove the bus into the street…on the wrong side. He went on hitting, crushing and maiming whatever came on the way…cars and other vehicles, auto-rickshaws, helpless pedestrians and so on. He seemed to be in spell or stupor and was absolutely unmindful of what was happening as a result of his mad act.

In the process he killed 9 people, injured about 30 some of them grievously and damaged about 40 vehicles. The police chased him for one hour through the city and finally arrested him. He was believed to be suffering from an attack of schizophrenia, but his mental imbalance was still not confirmed. Then, why he did what he did?

One overpowering reason could be modern-day stress from which some desperately seek releases. And, at time they opt for the wildest outlets. Two most stressed communities in our bursting country could easily be the police constables and the public bus drivers. These people never get enough rest and always get the worst pay packets with big families to support and wretched environs to live in. During festivals when they are supposed to enjoy togetherness with their families they get overburdened with duty 24 into 7. This modern-day stress factor could be a dormant volcano ready to erupt anytime.

And so, we never know what is going to happen and when and where. Even getting ready for any surprise we get surprised at the novelty of the surprise. Unfortunately in all such horrid situations people die and die and die… What solution and what help?

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