Residents of Kikruma village provided meals and other assistance to stranded passengers of an NST bus that broke down on the way from Dimapur to Kiphire on December 14 night.
Morung Express News
Kohima | December 15
When 22-year-old Asang got on the NST night bus headed to Kiphire from Dimapur on Tuesday evening, she did not think they would get stranded on the way. It was an annual journey she undertook every December to spend Christmas at home in Anatongre village under Kiphire district.
However, when the bus broke down somewhere between Kikruma and Pfütsero at around midnight, the 40 odd passengers felt dinner was out of the question. They had earlier planned to eat at a hotel in Pfütsero and now they were left stranded with no other means of transportation to get there.
But they were in for a surprise. “The people running the hotel were very kind to bring us food at such odd hours of the night. Instead of charging us more, we had to pay just half the price for the food,” Tovishe Awomi, a co-passenger who had gone to Dimapur for some work and was returning to Kiphire, expresses.
Unable to find a mechanic so late in the night, the passengers had to wait till next morning to continue with their journey.
They were in for another pleasant surprise when the people of Kikruma village brought them tea in the morning around 6:00 am. “They fed us breakfast, and not only that, they cooked for all of us and fed us very well. We are happy despite getting stranded and we are very grateful to the people of Kikruma,” Awomi further expresses.
Also touched by the benevolence of the people of Kikruma village, Asang, for whom such an experience is a first, says, “we had to sleep in the bus but we were very fortunate that we met such kind people.” “They served us tea not just once but twice and also cooked for all the passengers,” she goes on to say.
Asang works as a help in Dimapur. They have just crossed Meluri when The Morung Express spoke with the passengers. A mechanic had come around 9:30 am in the morning to repair it. The NST bus reaches Kiphire the next morning under normal circumstances. Asang says, “We will be further travelling to the village (Anatongre), which takes about 2 hours from Kiphire.”
Stating her appreciation for the people of Kikruma village, a member of the family with whom Asang lives in Dimapur also impresses upon that it is so uplifting that there are still people going out of their way to help the passengers especially ‘during these difficult times’.
