The bus that Kuldeep Singh was driving on Oct. 29. Singh is now blinded in one eye. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi: His one daring act saved countless lives a week ago. But Kuldeep Singh, now blinded in one eye, may never drive again. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) driver who suffered serious injuries when he tried to dispose of a powerful bomb left in his bus is out of danger but doctors say he will never be the same again. "We are giving him the best medical attention but we don't think he will be able to get behind the wheels in his lifetime," said a doctor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where Singh, 32, is warded in the seventh floor of an intensive care unit.

Singh was driving a packed bus on the 65-miles 'Outer Mudrika' route on Oct. 29 when passengers alerted the crew about a mysterious unclaimed bag. The bus had then reached Govindpuri in south Delhi.

As panic set in, passengers hurriedly got off the bus. Singh, a man who friends say does not know what fear is, picked up the black travel bag. One of the passengers outside shouted to him toit and see if it was indeed a bomb. He did that, and it exploded when he tried to throw it away. Kuldeep Singh took the brunt of the deafening blast, immediately losing two fingers. He almost lost his eyesight and hearing power. It was around the time when two other powerful bombs went off in Delhi.

Since then, Singh - whose wife is eight months pregnant with their first child - has been in AIIMS, the whole city's attention focused on a man whose quick reaction probably saved an explosion that could have certainly ripped apart a crowded bus plying on compressed natural gas. Initially, the wounds were thought to be life threatening. Doctors now say he is out of danger but could need long-term medical attention.

"At the most we hope to restore sight in one eye. One eye is surely lost because the eyeball itself is damaged beyond repair," the AIIMS doctor, who did not want to be identified, told IANS. "If it was just a damaged cornea, it could have been replaced. One of his ear drums is gone. We have put a metal brace in his right forearm, which is also damaged. Apart from that, he has suffered shrapnel wounds. But he will live."

Singh's distraught uncle Girver Singh, a science teacher in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district, added: "He has just regained consciousness. He is aware of his surroundings, and he is responding to people around him." The doctors and family members have not informed Singh about his damage to eyes and ears. They don't want him to lose hope.

At the hospital, family members and DTC employees have mounted a 24-hour vigil. His colleagues cannot stop praising him. "He was a very able driver and took his responsibilities seriously," said Naresh Kumar, a DTC conductor from the Hari Nagar I depot where Singh worked.

Two days after the terrorist attack, the DTC, in appreciation of Singh's bravery, took him on its rolls. Until then he was on a short-term contract, earning Rs. 1.30 ($.01) for every 0.6 miles he plied. The conductor of the same bus, Budh Prakash, was given an out-of-turn promotion. The Delhi government has given Singh and Budh Prakash Rs. 200,000 ($4,545) each. The DTC matched with similar amounts.

But money is the last thing on his worried family's mind. "He was the sole breadwinner," said his uncle. "He even looked after his physically challenged elder brother apart from his ageing parents. We hope he recovers fast."