KANJIRAPALLY: The KSRTC bus driver, harangued by Minister Ganesh Kumar publicly, said he was under severe mental stress after facing humiliation over the incident. The driver, Jaimon Joseph, collapsed while at the wheel, moments after learning that he was transferred to Pudukkad in Thrissur. He was rushed to Kanjirappally General Hospital and then to Kottayam Medical College Hospital for specialist treatment.

“My health condition is still unstable. Nobody from KSRTC came to enquire about my condition. There were two water bottles inside the bus used by the staff. Everything else was cleared. I was caught in fear that I couldn’t explain the situation to the minister. The transfer has not been cancelled yet. I am experiencing severe mental stress. I am not someone who gets into trouble. The incident embarrassed me, and my family is also having a hard time. I am a diabetes patient. When I heard about the transfer news, my vision blurred, and I later went black. I started trembling, so I stopped the bus and asked for help.” Said Jaimon.

The transfer process, including Jaimon's, was temporarily frozen following the controversy. However, Jaimon collapsed when it was later announced that the transfer had not been cancelled. The incident took place at Poothakuzhy in Kanjirappally while he was on duty on the Mundakayam-Pala route yesterday.

On October 1st, Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar stopped the bus driven by Jaimon near Ayoor in Kollam and censured the staff, including the driver, for stacking plastic bottles inside the bus. The video went viral on social media, inviting mixed responses from netizens.