Ugly scenes on Mangalore roads

Mangaluru: Drivers of the two privately operated city buses going in the same direction are caught on video footage, fighting tooth and nail for leeway near Thokkuttu in the city. The video has gone viral on social media, enraging the civil society in Mangaluru.

The video shows two young drivers exchanging blows against each other, showering not just blows but also the filthiest abuses at each other in the daylight glare of the public in the middle of the road. The two buses were heading in the same direction, and one of them following the one in the front menacingly blocked the other bus, missing a crash by just a few feet. At that point in time both buses were full of passengers.

The road rage began near fisheries Mahaveera circle when two buses picking up passengers. One of the buses overtook the other and raced towards the next stop. They both engaged in a road rage for the next 3.5 kilometers till Thokkuttu on the national highway 66 dangerously moving at very high speed. Endangering the other road users. Just before they entered the Thokkuttu bus terminal driver of the bus carrying the name ‘Padma’ intercepted the competitor. The both drivers got down and started exchanging blows. After fighting for nearly 5 minutes drivers of the other buses intervened and stopped them. This incident had blocked the carriage way of the national highway.

The rights activists of the city expressed exasperation of the public display of anger by the drivers, hurting each other. A transport activist told Hans India that such scenes have become common in the city following the bus owners have thrown all care to the air in operating the buses. The single bus owners push their crew to the maximum limits asking them to give maximum returns for each trip. They crew are not given salaries but they have to eke out their share of income by operating the buses to their optimal ‘collection’. This results in rash driving, unethical operating practices and other undesirable behaviour. Due to the stress that wells up in them during this road rage, they show scant respect to the passengers onboard.

Transport activists in the city says the private bus operators - operate on a faltered model which is outdated, dangerous and unethical.