He was on night duty on
Kutarpada-Chahada road stretch of western Maharashtra
that Tuesday night—the 10th of April, 2012. He spent most of the
night inside a bus and was assigned to drive a bus for the Kutarpada-Palghar
route on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway early next morning. There was nothing
special about the trip for a senior bus driver and he was ready like on any
other day.
Naushad Mohammed Hanif Shaikh had been working in the Maharashtra State
Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) since the last 18 years as a driver. He had
no record of even a single accident in those years of service and there was not
a single passenger-complaint against him. Around sixty passengers boarded his
bus for Palghar on that morning and the journey began on a bright note.
It was
smooth going and Naushad was handling the dangerous twists and turns in the
hilly road track quite easily with the skill of an experienced bus driver. The
destination was just over five kilometers away when the pain hit him.
Naushad
felt an excruciating pain in his chest suddenly and it was getting severe by
the seconds. He was gasping for breath at the wheel of a running bus with 60
passengers on a tricky road track. He did not panic or call anybody for help.
His priority was to keep the bus in full control and ensure safety of his
passengers. He defied his pain and concentrated on his immediate duty.
With
that crushing pain, dizziness and breathlessness Naushad Shaikh drove on for
nearly three kilometers more and finally parked the bus safely on a roadside.
Only then he cried out in agony and called the bus conductor for help.
The
bus conductor and all of the passengers rushed to him. Naushad just managed to
mumble about his chest pain and just died on the wheel. The frantic conductor
messaged the MSRTC office at Palghar and a vehicle was sent immediately.
Naushad was rushed to a hospital, but was declared brought dead.
In his
situation anyone could have panicked putting the lives of all the passengers in
grave danger. But the brave, dutiful and dedicated driver fought heroically to
delay his own death to save other lives. The contrast comes to our mind about a
rogue driver who recently went berserk with his bus in busy Pune city streets
hitting, killing and maiming helpless pedestrians and passengers in other
vehicles. But the matter of serious concern remains—the ever growing stress
levels in professions like bus drivers and police constables making heart
disease, behavioral changes and suicides commonplace occurrences.
Hats
off to a courageous person and let us pray for the eternal bliss of his noble
soul. He would be dearly missed by his family of five daughters and two sons,
the transport organization and the passengers. Two of his daughters were to get
married next month. MSRTC officials assured of adequate compensation for the
brave driver’s family and employment opportunity for at least one member of kin.
It is
mainly because of jewels like Naushad Shaikh that our planet is still a
wonderful place to live and breathe in.
