Kottayam: “I am alive today because he intervened like a messenger of God at that time,” these words of Arun Kumar, with a heart welling up with gratitude, sum up the timely action by the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) of the Jan Shatabdi Express the other day.
This is the second birth for 42-year-old Arun who underwent severe chest pain while traveling on the train and was saved because of timely intervention by TTE S Vinod Kumar.
Arun faced the health scare on Kannur-Thiruvananthapuram Jan Shatabdi Express on December 10.
Arun Kumar, an employee of a private medical devices company, was returning by train from Shoranur to Thiruvananthapuram. He felt pain in his chest when the train approached Kottayam and told TTE Vinod about it immediately.
Vinod wasted no time and sought the service of doctors on the train. He also contacted the Kottayam railway station and asked for an ambulance and the service of a doctor. Though Vinod alighted at Kottayam station, he had to board the train again as the facilities he wanted had not been arranged there.
The TTE then contacted the Changanassery railway station where an ambulance was readied. Arun was rushed to a private medical college at Tiruvalla as soon as the train arrived. An emergency operation was conducted.
Doctors said his life could be saved only because of the timely arrival and intervention.
However, Vinod doesn’t think he did something extraordinary and feels all these are part of his job. A native of Thiruvallam in Thiruvananthapuram, Vinod has been serving the Railways for the past 22 years.
Arun belongs to Nediyedath House (Arun Nivas) at Thiruvallam in Thiruvananthapuram district.
