Blog@GraceJunction

What’s happening to our planes suddenly! What’s happening to the Indian flights! There have been at least four incidents in the last fortnight in which one of the incidents resulted in the loss of 158 lives, including the crew! Again another flight almost landed into an already parked aircraft on the runway! Be it an overstressed flight crew or the ground-staff (ATC) that maybe the reason for all these, but there surely is too much appearing to be at stake in the skies for now!

I never forget to say a small prayer of thanks to God whenever my flight is about to take off and immediately before and after it lands safely too. After reading about these close shaves, I should say that every take off and landing has been a favor granted! Some of you may shirk at the thought of thanking God for everything! Why to ascribe all favours to Him! If so, then let me tell you, I am sure there maybe times in your life when you really want to thank someone for something or for some situation in your life and then suddenly you realize that you don’t know whom to thank! (more…)

16 april, 2008

6.10 am, Bodeli, Gujarat. A state transport bus carrying approximately 50 people is travelling towards Dabhoi. Out of the total passengers about 45 are school children going to give their final exam.

6.15 am, the bus reaches the Narmada Canal overbridge and tries to overtake a truck that is already almost there on the bridge and so he speeds up. 

6.15 am, Right front wheel of the bus hits the foot-path on the bridge at great speed, snapping a thick metal rod connecting the two front wheels and the steering wheel. The wheels froze at the angle at which it hit the foot path. With the connection between the wheels and the steering rod snapped, the driver had no control over the bus anymore. He was not a driver anymore, just a mere spectator, albeit for a few seconds more! The bus jumped the foot path, burst through the concerete railings and plunged 60 feet into the canal. (more…)

The TOI today is flooded with the news of a DPS school bus that overturned yesterday on it way to school. Little Akul Rathod, a really cute 9 year old student of standard IV, was killed in this freak accident, and he had no scope of survival because, his head got trapped between the bus and the road divider and his skull got crushed.

It pains me to even write about it, and I cannot even imagine the deep scar this event will cause in the mind of his parents. And this wound will never heal. They will have to nurse it as long as they live.

Ashok Patel, the driver of the ill-fated bus was overspeeding it seems. He jumped a divider and rushed past a truck to beat him to the junction. He overtook from the right when he actually needed to turn to the left! The trucker was not very happy it seems. He gave a slight nudge to our ‘Ayrton Senna’ before he speeded away to his destination, leaving the school bus to a cruel destiny. The bus it seems, turned turtle twice and in the process threw Akul out of the window pane, only to crush him later. (more…)