Kottayam: Many are reluctant to help those stranded on streets owing to inadequate money. Only the lucky few come across those willing to help without batting an eyelid. Tinu John, who was stranded at Perumbavoor KSRTC bus stand on a rainy Tuesday midnight, had such an experience. He wanted to travel to his native place Kottayam, but was short of money and couldn't retrieve cash from the ATM. However, K R Madhuraj, a KSRTC bus conductor, came to his rescue instantly as soon he narrated his predicament. Madhuraj took Rs 72 from his own pocket and issued a ticket for the youth to Kottayam, a 75-km ride.
Tinu, who works for a private firm, had been to Ernakulam to attend a programme of the company at Palarivattom. After the event, his friend dropped the Vakathanam resident in a car at Perumbavoor bus stand by midnight. After his friend left, Tinu realised that he had no cash for the ticket to Kottayam. The youth had an ATM card with which he tried to draw cash from three ATMs nearby, but all of them were empty.
When he returned to the bus stand, Tinu saw that the Coimbatore–Kottayam super fast of the Kottayam depot was about to leave. He approached the conductor Madhuraj and explained his plight. Without a thought, Madhuraj handed over a ticket for Kottayam worth Rs 72 to Tinu.
Meanwhile, Tinu called another friend of his at Kottayam and asked him to bring the ticket fare to Kottayam bus stand. When the bus reached Kottayam early in the morning, Madhuraj walked away to the office without even a glance at Tinu.
The thankful youth had to approach the bus stand office to learn Madhuraj’s phone number to contact him in order to return the ticket fare, which had been brought by Tinu’s friend.
Madhuraj said that he often helped passengers facing situations similar that of Tinu. “About 5 per cent of them may be cheats; but the remaining 95 per cent of the travellers I helped have returned the money,” said the conductor.
