Bengaluru-Mysuru highway accident: KSRTC driver, conductor cremated

KOZHIKODE: The bodies of the KSRTC driver and conductor who died after a bus overturned on the Bengaluru-Mysuru National Highway were cremated on Sunday. The deceased are K. Mithilesh, 29, a temporary driver at the Kozhikode depot and a resident of Vellayil Kunnaththazham in Kozhikode, and N.M. Arun, 53, a conductor and resident of Chevayur, Kozhikode. They died in the accident on Saturday morning.

The bodies were brought to Kozhikode around 6 am on Sunday by a team of officials from the Kozhikode depot and relatives. MP M.K. Raghavan, MLA K. Praveen Kumar and KSRTC employees paid their last respects. Mithilesh was cremated at the West Hill crematorium in Kozhikode, while Arun was cremated at the Mavoor Road crematorium.

Around 20 people were injured in the accident. Sanoop, a resident of Kottooli in Kozhikode, remains unconscious in the ICU. Two others who suffered serious injuries are also undergoing treatment.

No insurance cover for deceased temporary driver

While the dependents of conductor N.M. Arun, who died in the accident, are set to receive more than Rs 1 crore as insurance compensation, the family of driver K. Mithilesh has no insurance cover.

During the previous government’s tenure, KSRTC had introduced an insurance cover of Rs 1 crore for employees who die in accidents while on duty. However, temporary employees were excluded from the scheme. Their dependents are eligible only for the insurance amount linked to the cess and other existing provisions available to temporary workers in the event of death. A demand to include temporary employees under the insurance scheme has not been considered.

The bus driven by Mithilesh was nine years old and had exceeded the prescribed time limit for operating as a Super Class service. KSRTC will bear the medical expenses of those injured in the accident. KSRTC CMD Pramoj Shankar arrived in Kozhikode to oversee the arrangements.

KSRTC says driver was given adequate rest

KSRTC has denied allegations that the driver did not get enough rest before the accident. The allegations were raised by relatives and employee organisations following the crash that killed two people on the Bengaluru-Mysuru National Highway.

According to KSRTC officials, Mithilesh had around 16 hours of rest before starting the trip. The accident occurred on Saturday morning. He had completed his previous duty around 5 am on Friday. He started the Kozhikode-Bengaluru trip at around 9.30 pm on Friday night, which, according to officials, gave him sufficient rest.

The distance from Kozhikode to Bengaluru is more than 220 km one way. However, relatives said it was not appropriate to assign Mithilesh another duty on Friday night after he had reached home that morning after completing his previous duty. Employee organisations also alleged that the absence of a driver-cum-conductor arrangement on the bus resulted in continuous driving and may have contributed to the accident.