TSRTC diverts Hyd buses for Medaram Jatara

Hyderabad: Daily commuters travelling in state-run buses were stranded at bus stops as there was a low frequency of buses plying on city roads on Monday. Over 1,800 buses from various depots in Greater Hyderabad were diverted to the Medaram Jatara.

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has been running 6,000 buses to accommodate Asia’s largest tribal festival, the Medaram Jathara, from February 18 to 24. RTC runs 2,644 buses across the Greater Hyderabad Zone every day and allocates 1,800 city buses for devotees going to the fair. As a result, only 800 buses are plying in the Greater Hyderabad zone, which has an unintended impact on the city residents commuting in RTC buses.

M Dayanand, a regular commuter, said, “With a smaller number of buses running on city roads, this has impacted a lot on the common people who travel by public transport. Moreover, the students are facing innumerable defaulters with a lack of buses on city roads. Many students have either skipped their classes or paid more to travel in autorickshaws. Moreover, the autorickshaws are charging more.”

RTC officials said there will be a slight inconvenience to the students and other passengers, but there will be no severe shortage. The corporation urged the city passengers to cooperate with them as the buses are going to Medaram Special Operations.

An estimated 30 lakh devotees are expected to participate in the Jathara. To manage this influx, besides RTC, special train services during the festival period facilitate access from various districts of Telangana.