People hear the jingle of “Coming Home” whenever there is a festival nearby. The rush to get home creates a lot of hustle and bustle around you.
With lakhs of people packing their bags to travel to their hometowns in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for Sankranti, the city’s bus and railway stations have been crowded with people and vehicles creased up in never-ending lines at toll plazas.
Massive numbers of vehicles blocked all roads leading to Vijayawada, Warangal, Kurnool, and other parts of Telangana and AP. People rushed home in time for Sankranti, taking any mode of transportation available.
The South Central Railway (SCR) is running over 200 special trains to help with the festive rush. The number of ticket counters at Secunderabad Railway Station has been increased from 12 to 21.
To ensure that passengers board the correct train, the number of ticketing checking staff was increased from 20 to 40. Ticket checkers will ensure that those who do not have reservations do not board the train, causing inconvenience to other passengers.
Special instructions have been issued to reduce the possibility of a stampede or people colliding.
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TSRTC has also launched 4000 special buses on the occasion of Sankranti, as well as a bus tracking app that allows passengers to track their journey. “Don’t waste your time by going to Sankranti in your vehicles and waiting for hours at toll plazas. Travel by TSRTC buses and reach destinations faster through dedicated lanes at toll plazas,” said TSRTC MD VC Sajjanar.
Due to the high demand, private transporters raise fares and charge passengers exorbitant fees. On Friday, hundreds of vehicles travelling from Hyderabad to Vijayawada waited for hours for clearance at the two toll plazas on the National Highway 65 at Korlapadu in Nalgonda district and Panthangi in Yadadri district.
To reduce traffic at toll gates, toll plazas have reduced gate lifting time for vehicles equipped with FASTag from four seconds to two seconds.
On an average day, 25,000 vehicles travel to Vijayawada. However, the numbers have more than doubled for Sankranti. For emergencies, ambulances and crane services have been dispatched.
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