Denied Buses And Cars, People Flock To Cong. Event On Bullock Carts, Cattle Cages

KHAMMAM: Amid the rows of cars and vans parked in Khammam on Sunday were cattle-drawn carriages and bullock carts, which ferried large groups from rural areas as far as Kusumanchi mandal to Khammam town for the Congress’ Telangana Jana Garjana.

Villagers said that their main draw was to see Rahul Gandhi speak, and since the state government refused to allow RTC buses, they used these carts, generally used to transport cattle to markets, to reach the venue.

The Congress had asked to hire 1,500 RTC buses to ferry people to and from the venue, but the request was denied.

Among the oxen-drawn vehicles was also a ‘cattle cage’, in which nearly 200 villagers from the Kokya-Nokya thandas of Kusumanchi mandal in Paleru Assembly constituency travelled.

Many living closer to the venue in the erstwhile Khammam district also used their bikes to travel to the venue.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Nageshwar Naik of Kokya thanda said: “With the government not giving RTC buses for the Congress to transport people for the Rahul Gandhi meeting as a prestige issue, we travelled in our own village vehicle that is generally use for transporting cattle.”

A. Balaji of Nokya thanda questioned why the state government did not allot RTC buses, despite the Congress being ready to pay for them. “KCR RTC busses nahi diya, isliye ham is gaadi me aye (KCR did not give RTC buses, so we travelled in this vehicle),” he said.

Further, he said that they chose the cattle vehicle since the police imposed restrictions on private vehicles.

Besides cattle-drawn vehicles, many also reached the venue in auto trolleys, vans, and seven-seater autorickshaws. There were fewer big vehicles on the roads leading to Khammam, but the supporters managed to make it in large numbers.