Pregnant woman falls and dies in bus

“Did public apathy and inconsiderateness towards fellow beings have cost a Kerala woman her life? In an alarming incident that reeks of apathy, a pregnant woman from Kottayam district died on Wednesday after falling from a moving bus last Friday.

34-year-old Nadisha, a native of Erattupetta, was returning home from the Akshaya centre on Friday. Eight months into her pregnancy, Nadisha boarded a private bus named ‘Vazhayil’ that would take her home.

All the seats on the bus were occupied, forcing Nadisha to travel standing in the front of the bus by the door. Minutes later, as the bus took a turn, Nadisha lost her balance and fell off the bus. At the time of the accident, the main door of the bus was left open, said police.

Nadisha who suffered a major head injury was then rushed to RIMS hospital. Following an emergency surgery, the doctors managed to save the baby boy. However, Nadisha’s condition remained critical and she succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday.

Nadisha is survived by her husband and two daughters.

The Erattupetta police, who earlier booked the bus driver Yadhu under section 279 for rash driving, later charged him under section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence).

The police, who seized the private bus on the day of the accident, however, are yet to arrest the driver.

According to the amended Motor Vehicles Act, at least one seat ought to be reserved for pregnant women on every KSRTC and private bus. The Act was amended last year to include the provision, following a directive from the State Human Rights Commission.

Asked about booking the driver for flouting the norms, the police said that they were unaware of such a provision and that it does not currently come into the purview of the investigation.”

Article source: TheNewsMinute

Summary

Kerala has the highest sex ratio and literacy rate but we fall pitiably short of compassion and consideration for our fellow beings. This extreme situation where a pregnant woman slips and die in a moving bus because nobody offered a seat is absolutely inhuman. Here it was not just one person who died but two; the mother and the child.

We need to be sensitized to people’s needs. When we stoop down to such low levels of coldness and indifference to such basic courtesies is when we fail as a human being. That’s when all these laws come into place so as to make something that’s so fundamental as giving respect is forced upon, because we just do not know how to be.