Bus, railway stations burst at the seams ahead of Dasara fest

Hyderabad: With just a few days remaining for the Dasara, a huge rush has been witnessed at railway stations and bus stations, including MGBS and JBS. However, with the low frequency of buses to other districts and neighbouring States, passengers were seen facing difficulties in reaching their destinations.

Passengers at the bus station reported significant difficulties due to infrequent service, particularly to district destinations, leading to waits of two to three hours for buses to arrive. Similarly, at the railway station, long queues were observed as people tried their luck to secure reserved tickets.

Meanwhile, several railway passengers at Secunderabad station complained about the lack of visible police and railway personnel to manage the crowd and assist travellers on Wednesday. They also urged the railway to operate sufficient special trains during festivals.

A majority of people travel to districts including Karimnagar, Mancherial, Siddipet, Warangal, Bodhan, Nizamabad, Armoor, Sangareddy, Medak, and other towns in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh through buses. South Central Railway (SCR) runs trains to major destinations in Andhra Pradesh, such as Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam, Nellore, Kakinada, Narasapur, Bhimavaram, Eluru, Ongole, Vizianagaram, Tirupati, Odisha, Bihar, and Kolkata. In this all-stretches majority of the express trains including Kakinada Port Express, Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express, Vijayawada InterCity Express, Krishna Express, East Coast Express, and Falaknuma Express were running at full capacity.

Pointing out the failure of TGSRTC, Sunil Reddy, an IT employee, said, “Nearly all buses to Karimnagar were fully booked, with departures occurring only every four to five hours due to low frequency. Concerned officials are aware of the high demand for public transport during Dasara and should ensure adequate bus services.”

"Due to the low frequency of buses, officials should provide special services to prevent overcrowding during festive seasons," said Suresh, another passenger waiting for the Medak bus.

"Every year we face the same problem. Despite booking my ticket in July, my Secunderabad-Vijayawada ticket is still unconfirmed, leaving me with no option but to travel in an unreserved coach," said Ravi Rao, a rail passenger.

Meanwhile, the SCR is operating around 700 special trains to manage the rush during the Bathukamma and Dasara festivities. This festive month, approximately 1.8 lakh passengers have travelled from Secunderabad railway station, with around 40,000 from Kachiguda and Hyderabad.

To meet the heavy demand, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) is operating special buses for the entire festival season from MGBS, JBS, LB Nagar, Uppal, Aramghar, Santosh Nagar, and KPHB from October 1 to 15.