With the fear of COVID-19 pandemic fading away, the fervour marking Dasara is pervasive across the State.
With the employees and students heading to their native places to celebrate the festival with their kith and kin, the bus and railway stations are packed to capacity. Serpentine queues are seen at the reservation counters.
Anticipating heavy rush, the software professionals settled in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and other other cities have booked tickets in private buses in advance.
There is a heavy demand for the APSRTC buses as the government is operating special services without charging additional fare this year.
The Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) here is chock-a-block with people heading to their native places.
The APSRTC and the South Central Railway (SCR) are running special services to various destinations on the occasion.
While the APSRTC is plying more than 1,000 buses, the Railways is operating about 30 special trains, besides providing additional coaches to some other trains.
Special buses are being operated to Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and other States, say APSRTC officials.
Temples in general and Durga temples in particular have been tastefully illuminated to mark the occasion. At many places, the temple managements have lined up special pujas for the nine-day festival. The presiding deities are being worshipped in various ‘alankarams’ on each day of the festival.
“Due to COVID-19, we could not celebrated the festival for the last two years. This year, we are celebrating the festival on a grand scale at our native place at Kalidindi,” says Pakala Srinivas, a student.
Meanwhile, the police, as a precautionary measure, have stepped up security at the railway and bus stations.
