With elections slated on Monday, election authorities have taken over many of the APSRTC buses for transportation of election materials as well as staff. (Image: DC)
Visakhapatnam: With elections slated on Monday, election authorities have taken over many of the APSRTC buses for transportation of election materials as well as staff. This has resulted in cancellation of scores of intercity buses, causing inconvenience to daily travellers and those trying to reach their native places in time for voting on Monday.
Ticket rates of buses have skyrocketed. People are inconvenienced as available buses are overloaded. Daily commuters who rely on buses for their travel are the worst sufferers. Taking advantage of the situation, auto drivers have hiked their charges. Charges on traveling apps have also surged.
Significantly, many private companies have asked their staff to work on Sunday in lieu of Monday being a holiday for voting. People trying to reach offices thus found the going difficult due to shortage of public transport.
A.B.B. Rao, a private company employee, who travels from NAD to Sagarnagar by bus, expressed his frustration. "My company cancelled the holiday of Sunday, since tomorrow is a holiday. I usually travel by bus. But many buses have been cancelled. An auto driver wanted Rs 700 to take me to the office, whereas travel by bus usually costs me Rs 70-80," Rao complained.
Another employee Eswar Rao travels from Maddilapalem to the Steel Plant. He faced considerable difficulty due to the lack of buses.
When contacted, APSRTC official G. Satyanarayana told Deccan Chronicle that they have deployed around 200 additional buses to various districts, as the crowds are high.
First-time voters like Sinagavarapu Sridevi also faced considerable difficulty. She works in Visakhapatnam but has travelled back to Srikakulam to cast her vote. "This is the first time I'm voting. I am working in Vizag because opportunities in Srikakulam are limited. “If I elect a proper leader, maybe I can work in my hometown itself," she remarked.
South central railway has taken proactive steps to assist travelling passengers by deploying additional trains. A Waltair division staffer said they are also adding extra coaches to trains for clearing the rush. “We created 28,000 extra accommodations for passengers in view of the summer as well as elections,” the railway employee stated.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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