Hyderabad: Private players mint money as government’s stop-gap measures fail

Hyderabad: Tickets to Andhra Pradesh turn expensive during the festival season as lakhs of people go home to celebrate with their families. This time, thanks to the RTC strike, even ticket fares to the districts has zoomed three-fold

On the second day of the RTC strike, those looking to book tickets from Hyderabad to Adilabad online were being offered a seat at  Rs 700 and Rs 1,300 depending on the type of service. The ticket usually costs Rs 400.

Private cabs lined up at bus termini, hoping to get passengers travelling to nearby towns such as Gajwel and Medak. They were charging up to Rs 1,500 a trip, depending on the distance.

Elswhere, the RTC ran about 900 services in the city after hiring temporary drivers and conductors but there were not many passengers. After seeing record numbers on Saturday, the Metro Rail too witnessed a thin Sunday crowd. The rain from the afternoon perhaps played a part.

The crowds were seen at Lingampalli and Kacheguda railway stations from where the special trains are being run.

Officials said that many long-distance trains have been extended to Lingampalli and most special trains are being started from Kacheguda to take the load off the major station. These stations which usually see about 20,000 passengers, saw an additional 10,000 commuters.

A passenger, Mr Nagabhooshan Reddy, said, “As there were not many buses to our home town, Nizamabad, we rushed to the Kacheguda railway station. There was a special train but it was overcrowded. We could get in but it was very overcrowded and it became very difficult to travel with my grandchildren.”

SCR has run 13 special trains towards Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh to clear down the festive crowd. All these special trains were Jansadharan trains with all the unreserved coaches, where passengers can board with a general ticket without any reservation.