Hyderabad: Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) Managing Director VC Sajjanar held a meeting on Monday to discuss preparations for the upcoming Dasara festival. He urged officials from the Police and Transport Departments to work together with the TSRTC to ensure the safe transportation of passengers during the celebrations. Sajjanar raised concerns about the increase in passengers due to the Mahalakshmi free bus scheme for women.
During the meeting at Bus Bhavan, Sajjanar emphasized the need for support from both the Police and Transport Departments. He presented a detailed plan through a PowerPoint presentation, which explained the special bus arrangements and crowd management strategies for Dasara.
Sajjanar also pointed out the issue of people traveling in private vehicles with white number plates, which has caused heavy traffic congestion. He advised the public to choose RTC buses with experienced drivers for a safer journey. He also encouraged officials to raise awareness about the risks of using private vehicles during the festive season.
To prepare for the increased travel during Saddula Bathukamma and Dasara, the TSRTC has arranged 6,304 special buses across the state. Due to the Mahalakshmi scheme, an additional 600 special services will be provided. Sajjanar mentioned that heavy passenger traffic is expected between October 9 and 12.
Key bus stations such as MGBS, JBS, Uppal Crossroads, LB Nagar, Aramgarh, Kukatpally, Gachibowli, Bowenpally, and others are expected to see a high volume of passengers. Special camps have been set up in these areas to offer necessary facilities, and monitoring officers will be present to ensure additional buses are deployed when needed.
For employees in the IT corridor, TSRTC will run buses to cities like Vijayawada and Bengaluru via the Gachibowli ORR. Specific numbers of buses have been allocated for different departure points: 1,602 buses from JBS, 1,193 from LB Nagar, 585 from Uppal, and 451 from Aramgarh. Sajjanar confirmed that special services will also be available for return journeys on October 13 and 14.
Hyderabad City Additional Commissioner (Traffic), Vishwa Prasad, assured that the police will fully cooperate with TSRTC during the festive season. He said the police will coordinate with RTC to ensure the safe return of passengers.
The meeting was attended by several senior officials, including Cyberabad Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Joel Davis, Hyderabad Traffic DCP Rahul Hegde, Rachakonda Traffic DCP Srinivasulu, and other officers from the Transport Department and TSRTC.
