Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s conductors feel carrying a whistle and using them is no longer fashionable.
The KSRTC management had issued a circular making it mandatory for conductors to carry a whistle while on duty, following the death of a youth at the Thrissur KSRTC stand after he was caught between two buses. But the staff is reluctant to be ‘whistleblowers’.
“The decision has been taken on the basis of a few stray accidents. Often it’s not practical to carry whistles and get out of the buses while they move in the reverse. More so, if the bus is full, which they inevitably are, during peak hours. The purpose will be served by using the bell. It’s another unscientific ‘invention’ by the management,” said a conductor of Ernakulam depot, adding that he was not personally told about the direction by his immediate superior officers.
The conductor should get out of the bus and guide the driver by blowing the whistle, while he reverses it. Every conductor on duty must carry a whistle, says the order TR 1 – 003240 (A) /2014 being circulated to all depots. On May 18, a youth was crushed to death after he was caught between two buses, (Bangalore-Kottarakkara Super Deluxe), while it was going in the reverse, at the Thrissur depot.
“No one is willing to adhere to the direction which is already being followed by the staff of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Corporations,” rued Assistant Transport Officer (Ernakulam), Madana Mohanan.
Source: Deccan Chronicle
