Digvijay Singh, alias Diggy, The Driver

Ramesh Kumar from New Delhi

At the safe sex promotion booth  of BEST Roadlines in Bawal/Haryana on the  Drivers Day Celebratory event (September 17, 2017), this lean and emaciated handicapped gent was at his taunting best.

While other long haul truck drivers remained tight-lipped, this man from Ayodhya/Uttar Pradesh kept hurling barbs at the booth agent Raj Gupta.

That's where he drew my attention.

Am familiar with catcalls and snide remarks  at truck driver meets to promote condom promotion as safe sex tool to this most vulnerable segment. Sex is a basic need - like water, food and air. Physical hunger is natural for homo sapiens and animals.

At this gathering, this man going great guns.

Quietly pulled away by  Transport Mitra Selvan Dasaraj for a  chat onto the sidelines,  we noticed for the first time, he was handicapped and  ambling with  the help of a five-and-a-half feet long staff. Marginally shorter than his physical height. The limp was perceptible. 

Nice  stubble. Hair on head? Marginal, again. Closely cropped or little growth? Could be both.

"Something bothering him. That's why he is exploding. Let's find out," Selvan said while escorting this fortyish Diggy.

What is he: Driver? Or what?

He was a driver at BEST. Until eight years ago, that was. Earned his daily bread driving trucks. During one of his visits to his hometown, a tractor hit rendering him handicapped.

Since then, he is unemployed. Or unemployable by any truck company. Eight long years.

With two kids and spouse to support, he was  forced to sell off his land  to meet his medical  expenses post-accident. Eyes water as Diggy gets emotional.

So  what is he doing at BEST now? No, he is NOT on the rolls of this fleet owning company, plying on Delhi-Mumbai route. But he hangs around within its several acre premises seeking a livelilhood. Professional pride does not permit him beg on the streets of Ayodhya.

What kind of livelihood he is leading now?  "At times, drivers take me on their trips as a second. I help them. Including driving when they are tired or sleeping. Remember, am a truck  driver. Licensed," explains emotive Diggy.

Licensed is a dicey angle. Yes, he would have been a licensed HCV driver when he joined BEST. He could not have got his license renewed given his handicapped situation. So?

How serious was the accident? I ask him.

Instantly he unzips and lowers his pant. No underwear.  Unmindful of a crowd of  drivers hanging around us and listening to his sad sob story, he is not ashamed of displaying his private parts. Oh, My God!  He is crying profusely.

His left upper arm reaches eyes and the dirty full sleeves of shirt wipes the rolling tears. Running nose as well.

Deep cut. Healed? "It pains even today," adds he as Selvan runs his fingers over the yet-to-heal deep wound.

The treatment is not complete because he can't afford. What about BEST supporting him? He remains silent while other drivers guffaw. That gesture tells a lot.

How much Diggy earns a month? He laughts at you as if you asked the stupidest question. Yet, he responds: Rs.2,500-3,000. How much he sends home? Again, a weak smile. We know, we posed another stupid question.

Where does he live?  A driver standing next to him blurts out: "Where else? Inside the truck."

On his trips, the BEST driver takes care of Diggy's food and liquor supply. He hankers after more trips because such trips assure him of his food and beverages to keep his body and soul together.

When not on trips, what about his basic needs?  Sympatheitc drivers pay for him.

BEST bosses have been 'magnanimous' enough to permit him hang around in its premises without charging him any rent!

Diggy is not the first long haul truck driver, handicapped and rendered useless to the business enterprises that used his services when he was shipshape and ... DUMPED.

We know a handful of such unfortunate ones.  The story is same. Use and throw. Heartless motor maliks? No. Less sympathetic towards those who helped them build their empires.

Spending crores of rupees on Drivers Day is fine. Securing the safety and future of truck drivers ought to be a key concern for all stakeholders. OEMs, the primary load providers, should deny business to motor maliks if their truck drivers are NOT insured for accident and death while on duty. Similarly the road transport authorities should penalize fleet owners if drivers are not insured during periodic checking on highways.

There are hundreds of Diggys ditched by motor maliks across India. If such disciplinary initiatives are rolled out and enforced sincerely, then there will be no more Diggys.

If anyone out there want to rehabilitate - Yes, that is the word - REHABILITATE Diggy with a job in anything related to driver training or a job at fuel station or wherever, let me hear here.