The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is leaving no stone unturned to make arrangements, including pressing into service special buses, ahead of the Dasara festival. Given that lakhs of passengers travel within the State and to other States in the run-up to the festival, the transport juggernaut has arranged for as many as 4,198 special buses.
According to officials, the TSRTC is geared up to handle up to 1.5 lakh passengers per day in the run-up to Dasar. While special services began on September 24 with an additional 370 special buses across regions, the number of services scheduled for October 4 is 837.
“We have around 2,600 schedules every day. In addition to this, a total of 4,198 buses will be deployed till October 5. We are looking at an additional 6 lakh additional passengers. Apart from special buses, we are taking care of other things for passengers such as amenities and facilities at bus stations,” said Regional Manager Ranga Reddy A Sridhar, adding that the occupancy ratio has been promising and rising with each day.
The Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) witnessed an increase in the influx of passengers from September 24. The long weekend proved to be an opportune moment for passengers to begin planning their holiday in advance.
However, travellers at the MGBS point out that they are facing delays in the departure of buses. Officials, on the other hand, attributed these delays to the serious traffic snarls that the city has been witnessing over the past few days on account of the rains.
A TSRTC staff member requesting anonymity said, “Almost every day, we are dealing with a delay in buses leaving the station. There have been delays of up to one hour. However, all efforts are being made to deal with the situation.”
SCR scenario
The situation at the railway stations is similar with passengers arriving in large numbers. The South Central Railway (SCR) officials said that arrangements have already been made to cater to the needs of passengers. Safety measures too are in place.
“Generally, the movement is towards places like Kakinada, Visakhapatnam and Vijaywada. The rush began on Friday and we will see a significant rise on Sunday. We have announced special trains to cater to the passenger rush,” an SCR official said, adding that coach augmentation would be done as and when required.
The SCR recently announced special trains ahead of Dasara between various destinations such as Secunderabad and Patna, Secunderabad and Sangtragachi, Secunderabad and Darbhanga, Visakhapatnam and Bangalore Cantonment, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati, Narsapur and Yesvantpur.
