Festive rush chokes bus, railway stations in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Following the long weekend holidays in view of Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day celebrations, festive rush was witnessed at the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus complexes and railway stations in the twin cities here on Friday, as a large number of people thronged to the bus and railway stations to reach their hometown and enjoy the long weekend along with their family. People were seen making a beeline for buses and trains, since Thursday late night. However, with low frequency of buses to other districts and neighboring States, passengers were seen facing difficulties in reaching their destinations.

After the State government declared a holiday on Friday on eve of Raksha Bandhan, and with four days of holidays including second Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Independence Day), hundreds of men, women and children were seen flocking to the bus and railway stations. The bus stations of twin cities Jubilee bus Station (JBS) in Secunderabad, Mahatma Gandhi Bus station (MGBS) in Old city and Uppal bus station were jam-packed.

However, the families at all bus stations were seen waiting for two to three hours for the buses to arrive.

Manjula, who was to travel to Husnabad from JBS said, "each bus to the route is full and there were no special buses for the festival. I have been waiting for past one hour to catch a bus to reach my hometown."

A majority of people were seeing travelling to districts including Karimnagar, Mancherial, Siddipet, Warangal, Bodhan, Nizamabad, Armoor, Sangareddy, Medak and other towns in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Another passenger, Madhuri who has to catch a bus to travel to her hometown along with her kids said, we have been waiting for the bus for the last two hours at JBS for a bus to travel to Siddipet. "We women are facing problem to hold a seat for ourselves along with our children as most of the men are seen placing their bags from the window. The conductors must reserve few seats for women." As there is low frequency of buses, the officials should provide special buses to avoid rush during festive seasons."

A conductor at JBS said. "there is huge rush witnessed at the bus stops as the State government declared holidays for 4 day in view of the festive season. As there are less buses and huge crowd, the buses get jam-packed within five minutes. With the higher official's direction, we are performing double duty and making extra trips to the nearby districts."

Many passengers, after waiting for hours, took private buses despite higher amount of cost. Taking an advantage, the private buses were seen charging extra amount to each passenger.

Meanwhile, railway stations like Secunderabad, Kacheguda and Nampally witnessed a big festive rush. Large number of families were seen on platforms waiting to board the trains to reach their destinations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Secunderabad Railway Station, which is the biggest railway station in the twin cities, saw festive rush since early morning.

The rush is expected to continue till Tuesday as most passengers will return to the city after the festival and holidays.