KOLLAM: Adding to the list of persons dying by suicide due to the financial crisis brought about by Covid, a private bus operator took the extreme step in Kottiyam on Tuesday. Mohanan Pillai, owner of Seena Travels, was found unconscious in a shack behind his house at Kottiyam. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.
According to his relatives, Mohanan was in depression owing to financial liabilities that piled up during the lockdown.
His buses had not been plying for the past one-and-a-half years and were mostly damaged since they were not being operated. He also had increasing mortgage payments pending due to lack of revenue that forced him to consume poison, his relatives said.
Similarly, a 48-year-old bus owner allegedly ended his life owing to the financial distress at Perumbadikkunnu near Ambalavayal in the district last week. The deceased was P C Raja Mani of Palancherry. After taking poison, he informed his friends over the phone that he was in a severe financial crisis since he could not operate his bus for the past 18 months due to the Covid curbs.