Pathanamthitta: Thirty-eight passengers, including women and children, were stranded in the Moozhiyar forest on Thursday after a KSRTC bus they were travelling in broke down. The bus, operated by Kollam's Chadayamangalam KSRTC depot, was running a tour package to Adavi, Parunthumpara, Moozhiyar, and Gavi.

According to Manorama News, the bus broke down around 11.15 am near Moozhiyar forest, leaving the passengers stranded for hours. Although another KSRTC bus from the Pathanamthitta depot arrived at the spot around 3.30 pm. But that plan also failed when the second bus broke down due to a faulty clutch..

According to the KSRTC tour schedule, the bus from Chadayamangalam was scheduled to arrive in Gavi by 2.30 pm.

Sindhu, a passenger, told Manorama News that tourists, including diabetic patients and children, were facing a difficult time in the remote area. She pointed out that KSRTC only distributed bread and bananas to the hungry passengers.

She alleged that KSRTC staff at the Pathanamthitta depot took nearly four hours to send a replacement bus. However, the alternative arrangement proved futile, as the second bus also broke down.

"The driver of the new bus is trying to fix the clutch problem. We are sitting inside the bus as it is raining. We are terrified because we can hear elephants trumpeting in the forest. We paid ₹1,750 per ticket for this trip. Now, we have unanimously decided to return home as soon as possible. We will not be reaching Gavi today with this faulty bus, so we will be going back to Chadayamangalam," Sindhu said.

The passengers also said the conductor and driver were helpless, repeatedly trying to contact the authorities to resume the service.

Speaking to Manorama News, a Controlling Inspector at Pathanamthitta KSRTC depot claimed that they received information about the faulty bus at 11.50 am on Thursday, and a replacement bus was dispatched around 12.10 pm based on availability. "It takes at least two hours to reach Moozhiyar from Pathanamthitta. The service was disrupted due to a technical issue. We cannot predict such situations," he said.