Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus driver dives into pond, saves 2 girls from drowning

TUMAKURU: The driver of a KSRTC bus, which was flagged down by a distraught woman who wanted her two daughters to be rescued, dived into a pond and saved the girls from drowning near Handigunte Gate in Sira taluk of Tumakuru district on Sunday.Driver Manjunath M, 38, told TOI: “I was driving from Sira to Nagappanahalli Gate with more than 40 passengers on board. A woman stopped my bus at Handigunte Gate and asked me to rescue her two daughters who had fallen into a pond by the roadside.”Manjunath said he knew swimming and immediately jumped into the pond and rescued the two girls, Sushma, 17, a PU student, and her sister Manjula, 12, a class 6 student. “The girls had already taken in lot of water and were unconscious. A minute’s delay and I would not have been able to save them.”The woman and her daughters were washing clothes in the pond when the girls slipped. Manjunath has 15 years of service in the department and has been plying on this route for five years. The two girls would commute on his bus to school/ college and back home. “I am very happy that I was able to save them,” Manjunath said. While the passengers appreciated him for his good deed, Manjunath, who had no spare uniform, got back into the bus and continued driving in wet clothes. He said the girls are out of danger. Depot manager of Sira felicitated Manjunath.