VC Sajjanar meets police, RTA officials on Dasara operations

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation MD VC Sajjanar on Monday called on officials from the Police and Transport Departments to cooperate with RTC in ensuring safe transport of passengers during the Dasara festival. He expressed concern over the increased number of passengers due to Mahalakshmi, the free bus scheme for women.

At the coordination meeting at Bus Bhavan, Sajjanar highlighted the importance of the police and Transport Departments’ support for RTC operations during the festive season. The meeting included a power-point presentation detailing special bus arrangements and crowd management for Dasara.

Sajjanar said many people are opting to travel in private vehicles with white number plates, resulting in significant traffic congestion. He urged the public to consider RTC experienced drivers for safer travel options and encouraged officials to raise awareness about the risks of private vehicle travel during festivals.

“RTC has made extensive arrangements to ensure passengers travelling to their home towns for the Saddula Bathukamma and Dasara face no difficulties. We will operate 6,304 special buses Statewide for the festivities. Due to the Mahalakshmi scheme, an additional 600 special services will be introduced. Heavy passenger traffic is expected from October 9 to 12," Sajjanar stated.

He said key bus stations, including MGBS, JBS, Uppal Crossroads, LB Nagar Aramgarh, Kukatpally, Gachibowli, Bowenpally, Jagadgirigutta, Suchitra, IS Sadan, Borabanda, and Shamshabad, would experience increased passenger volumes. Special camps have been established in these areas to provide necessary facilities. Monitoring officers will be on-site to deploy additional buses as needed.

To accommodate IT corridor employees, RTC will operate buses to Vijayawada, Bengaluru, and other locations via Gachibowli ORR. Specific numbers of buses have been allocated for various departure points: 1,602 from JBS, 1,193 (LB Nagar), 585 (Uppal), and 451 (Aramgarh). Sajjanar confirmed that special services will also be arranged for the return journey on October 13

and 14. Hyderabad City Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Vishwa Prasad said they will always cooperate with RTC during the festive season. He said the police will work in coordination with RTC to bring passengers home safely.

Cyberabad Joint CP (Traffic) Joel Davis, Hyderabad Traffic DCP Rahul Hegde, Ashok Kumar, Rachakonda Traffic DCP Srinivasulu, Manohar, Traffic Additional DCP Veeranna, officers from the Transport Department, and RTC were present.