Rushing home to vote

​Hyderabad: The bus stations and various bus stop points in the city gave a crowded look on Thursday with people making beeline to their villages to cast their vote on Friday. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) gave some of the buses to the Election Commission authorities for transporting the election staff and election material.

Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) and at various places like Dilsukhnagar, Uppal and Ameerpet were full of passengers waiting for the buses to go to their native places in the nearby district. Apart from the elections, the holidays also gave a chance to the citizens to visit their villages and stay till Sunday. 

The RTC is operating 1,200 additional buses from Hyderabad to nearby districts. The authorities said that the buses were being operated from 5 am on Thursday. Customer Relations Manager of RTC P Shiva Kumar Reddy said that the Greater Hyderabad zone of the corporation operates 3,500 buses every day from MGBS and on Thursday and Friday, 1,200 extra buses were being operated to avoid inconvenience.

Kandukuari Vikas, a student who was waiting for the bus at MGBS, said that he was going to his village to cast his vote in Alair constituency in Yadadri Bhongir district. He said that three days holidays had also given an opportunity for him to spend time with his family.

Ch Sathish, a private employee, said he was going to Bijnepally to cast his vote in Nagarkurnool Assembly constituency. He said that people in villages generally prefer to be in the village on polling day to be identified as a native. “Sometimes candidates provide vehicles and also a meal to the voter. It is like a festive atmosphere in villages during the election,” said Sathish.

The RTC officials said that on Friday buses to the areas like Mahbubnagar, Achampet, Kalvakurthy, Kollapur, Narayanpet, Nagarkurnool, Makthal and Khammam would be operated from MGBS. Similarly, buses to the areas like Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Medak district would be from JBS. For the areas like Warangal, Torrur, Yadagirigutta, Jangaon buses would be from Uppal crossroads, for areas like Khammam and others, the buses would be starting from Dilsukhnagar and LB Nagar. For the areas like Medak, the buses would be available from Lingampally, Chandanagar, KPHB, SR Nagar, Ameerpet and other important points in the city.