TURA, Sept 30: The age-old practice of providing night bus drivers with free food and alcohol by roadside dhabas is nothing new, except that it has left behind a terrible consequence- the deaths of innocent passengers.
According to passengers of the ill-fated MTC bus that met with an accident at Nongshram bridge, the driver had delayed the departure from Rongjeng so as to have his fill of alcohol on that fateful night.
The delay had reportedly angered some passengers leading to an altercation with the driver who, to make up for lost time, floored the accelerator resulting in that tragic mishap.
The habit of free food and drinks is a well known trait among night bus drivers and places like Paikan in Assam, where most of the buses halt for food at midnight, is a haven for them to indulge in these intoxicants.
The dhaba operators go out of their way to appease the drivers for parking their buses at their lane so as to allow passengers to disembark and spend money in food at their stalls.
Wednesday night’s tragedy is an eye opener for many to end this practice.