The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has drawn up plans to ply around 45 special buses between Sironcha in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district and Medaram in Telangana’s tribal majority Mulugu district for the convenience of devotees planning to visit the “Sammakka Saralamma” jatara scheduled to be held from February 16 to 19.
Anticipating heavy influx of devotees from the neighbouring Gadchiroli and other districts of Maharashtra for the upcoming jatara in Telangana’s tribal heartland of Medaram well ahead of the mega event, the TSRTC authorities have decided to operate special buses on the inter-State route from Sironcha to Medaram in adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines from February 13 to 20, sources said.
The upcoming four-day biennial jatara at Medaram is expected to draw lakhs of devotees from far and wide.
The mega event, considered biggest tribal congregation in the country, is likely to generate substantial revenue for the public transport entity.
Sources said the jatara special buses will ply via Kaleshwaram, Mahadevpur, Kataram, Bhupalpally, Ghanpur, Ramappa and other places covering a distance of nearly 175 km from Sironcha to Medaram.
Elaborate arrangements have been made to operate the jatara special buses between Sironcha and Medaram from February 13 to 20 for the convenience of devotees, B Dharam Singh, Depot Manager, TSRTC, Bhupalpally, told The Hindu.
The fare for jatara special buses from Sironcha to Medaram has been fixed at ₹300 (adults) and ₹160 (children).
Meanwhile, Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar reviewed the arrangements for smooth operation of TSRTC special buses to Medaram from various destinations for the convenience of devotees from within the State and other parts of the country in connection with the upcoming jatara at Bus Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday.
He said a total of 3845 special buses will be pressed into service to ensure safe transport of devotees to Medaram jatara. Boarding and alighting points have been earmarked on Medaram grounds and 42 queue lines set up on nearly 50 acres of land.
He instructed the officials to ensure better food, accommodation and health facilities for the TSRTC staff deployed for jatara duty. He wanted the authorities to ensure strict compliance with the COVID-19 safety guidelines by all the crew members of the buses.
The TSRTC vice-chairman and Managing Director V C Sajjanar said a total of 12,000 TSRTC staff and 150 officers will be deployed for Medaram jatara duty. He said special control rooms will be set up in bus stands and online bus ticket booking facility has been made available from the MGBS and JBS in Hyderabad.
TSRTC chairman B Goverhan attended the meeting.
