Kochi: It doesn’t quite mirror the centre’s Viksit Bharat campaign. At the municipal bus stand of BJP-ruled Thripunithura municipality, metal remains of a broken passenger bench have left a 60-year-old daily-wage painter with 22 stitches and a month of enforced rest, exposing the dangerous state of the public transport facility used by hundreds of commuters every day. Even more alarming, the jagged metal stubs that tore open his right leg remained exposed on the platform on Saturday, more than 24 hours after the accident, without a barricade or even a warning sign.

P R Shanthanu, a resident of South Paravoor near Poothotta, was heading to his work site in Kakkanad on Friday morning when he tripped over the protruding remains of a passenger bench. He had arrived at the bus stand to catch his regular 8.45 am connection bus, as he did on working days.

With the platform crowded during the morning rush, Shanthanu was looking ahead for his bus when the jagged metal struck his leg below the knee, causing a very deep injury just above his right foot.

“At 8.40 am, the stand was packed. Amid the crowd, it is difficult to spot the metal legs on the platform. The seating part broke off long ago, leaving two sharp, one-foot-high pipe legs standing exposed. As I moved towards the bus, the stub struck my leg. If my foot hadn’t jammed onto it, the forward momentum would have thrown me straight under the tyres of another incoming bus, headfirst,” he recounted while speaking to Onmanorama.

Shanthanu was first taken to the nearby Taluk Hospital and subsequently shifted to Ernakulam General Hospital, where he underwent emergency treatment. Doctors put 22 stitches in the injury and advised him to remain on strict bed rest for at least a month.

For a daily-wage worker who depends on his earnings to support his family, the injury has brought work to an abrupt halt.
“I am the sole breadwinner for my family. Everything runs on what I earn every day. We chose public transport to travel safely, and now I cannot step out of bed for a month. Who will compensate me for this loss?” he asked.

Following an intimation from the hospital, Hill Palace police contacted the family. Shantanu is preparing to lodge a formal complaint seeking compensation and accountability from the municipality.

Hazard remains despite serious injury
The accident has intensified concerns over the condition of the bus stand, where commuters say the exposed metal stubs have posed a danger for more than a year. The remains of the bench, whose seating portion was removed after it broke, continue to jut out from the platform.

“What happened to Shanthanu could happen to anyone again as they rush to catch the bus,” said Suresh Babu, a private bus driver operating from the terminal.

He said several passengers, particularly those unfamiliar with the bus stand, had tripped over the protrusions while hurrying to board buses, suffering falls and fractures.

The lack of basic amenities has compounded the safety concerns. Sunil, who runs a shop inside the terminal, said the deterioration had been evident for years.

“The seating arrangement was dismantled nearly a decade ago. Even the streetlight collapsed during a downpour and was moved aside by bus drivers; it still lies abandoned on the southern side. By 6 pm, the terminal is plunged into darkness. Without an enquiry counter, elderly citizens and first-time commuters are left completely stranded,” he said.

Students who use the bus stand daily have also raised concerns about the risk posed by the metal stubs during peak hours.
“Hundreds of school and college students run through this stand every single morning. When people rush in that hurry, anyone can trip over these stubs. Even after someone suffered 22 stitches, the authorities haven’t bothered to do a thing,” said Arya, a student commuter.

Transport workers also flagged poor sanitation at the facility. They said even though there is a pay-and-use toilet, many people urinate behind parked buses, stinking up the place.

Municipality cites tender delay
Thripunithura Municipal Chairperson P L Babu attributed the delay in addressing the problem to complications with a previous contract, while assuring that steps would be taken to cover the exposed metal.

“Last year, a tender was floated for this work, but the contractor abandoned it midway after suffering a heart ailment. Consequently, it had to be re-tendered as a spillover project, which a new contractor has now taken up,” Babu said.

Asked why the dangerous protrusions had not been covered even after the accident, he said their removal was also included in the tender.
“Even removing those stubs comes under that tender. I have instructed the engineering wing. They will cover the stubs on Monday,” he said.

The decades-old bus stand, designed to accommodate barely 10 buses, handles over 100 bus trips daily, forcing some services to drop passengers on congested outer roads. A modern integrated transport hub linking bus, rail, and metro has been promised for decades, but land acquisition remains untouched despite repeated budget announcements.