Remember the ‘The Boy who cried Wolf’ tale from the Aesop’s fables? An oft-repeated tale that our elders used to narrate in our growing years with a stern warning towards the end – asking us not to lie like the shepherd boy in the story.
Kerala would have had a rather rude reminder of this tale but was fortunately saved from the misery. When a KSRTC low-floor bus caught fire on Saturday, help came a little late as many thought that the news was just another April Fool’s joke.
Video – Anish Kadaliplackal
Locals, who first heard of the fire, dismissed the reports as fake. Even photos and media reports of the bus catching fire failed to convince them. The KSRTC authorities also did not rush to the aide of the passengers immediately. Only after repeated calls and confirmation did help finally reach the people stranded on the road.
It was the driver’s quick thinking that averted a major tragedy as he stopped the vehicle immediately on seeing smoke emanating from the engine. The vehicle was at Kuruthikalam on the Thodupuzha-Kattapana route. He opened the automated emergency door immediately and asked the passengers to get off. The vehicle was completely gutted in the fire.
But then again, it’s difficult to put the blame entirely on locals or the authorities as people are known to make crank calls to fire force and other government offices on April Fool’s Day and make fake claims.