Less buses on the roads due to Pushkaralu diversion
Students travel on foot board in a crowded bus due to less frequency of city buses in Vijayawada on Tuesday.
VIJAYAWADA: Owing to Pushkaralu, RTC has reduced its services in the city to make arrangements for buses to Rajahmundry. As a result many college students and employees have been inconvenienced. Most of them are now availing the auto-rickshaws.
Very few buses are plying in the city. Frequency has been reduced in busy junctions like K R Market and in PNBS. Irked with waiting for hours to catch a bus, many students are opting for auto-rickshaws.
A degree student of Sidhartha Mahila Kalasala in the city, P. Nagamani alleged that RTC officials have ignored the fallout of diverting buses to Rajahmundry. “We have been waiting more than an hour for a bus,” said P. Nagamani. Auto-rickshaw operators, seizing the opportunity, have hiked fares.
Commuters traveling to suburban areas like Ibrahimpatnam, Kondapalli and Kankipadu, are particularly inconvenienced, as they are solely dependent on buses from Pundit Nehru Bus Station.
“As they have options, residents prefer to take auto-rickshaws. But we have to wait for bus, as we do not have any alternate mode of transport to Kankipadu, other than a bus from PNBS,” said B. Ankamma Rao, resident of Kankipadu, who travels daily to buy vegetables in Vijayawada.
According to officials, only 30 percent of the bus services are operating as most of the buses are running between Rajahmundry and Vijayawada to carry pilgrims. “Many buses from all the five depots in the city are diverted from city services to run special services for Godavari Maha Pushkaralu,” said RTC Regional Manager P. V. Rama Rao.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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