MGBS Flood Chaos: Passengers Forced to Chase Buses on Roads

 Hyderabad: Hundreds of passengers were thrown into chaos on Friday night and Saturday after buses diverted from the flood-hit Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) were sent to LB Nagar and Aramghar junctions, which have no proper boarding points or terminals. Families with children ran along the highways trying to trace their buses amid confusion and delays. “We were forced to run around with our children, checking bus name boards to find the right one,” said Anuradha, a passenger bound for Miryalguda.

The absence of satellite bus stations, proposed years ago by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGRTC) at LB Nagar, Aramghar and Uppal, has once again come under sharp focus. Despite repeated proposals and official assurances, the prolonged delay has left Hyderabad heavily dependent on MGBS and Jubilee Bus Station (JBS). Every flood or festival rush turns travel into a commuter’s nightmare.

On Friday, gushing water from the Musi river inundated MGBS, submerging its premises and leaving passengers stranded overnight. Rescue teams waded through knee-deep water to evacuate commuters, many of them families and students heading home for the Dasara holidays. “This is the worst travel experience of my life,” said Ramesh, a Warangal student who was stranded for nearly 10 hours.

Those bound for Karimnagar, Nirmal and Nizamabad were redirected to JBS, but with weak city bus connectivity, many had faced hours-long ordeals. Others, forced to depend on autorickshaws to reach LB Nagar or Aramghar, said they had to pay double the usual fares. “For women travelling alone, this was unsafe and exhausting. The holidays began with trauma instead of joy,” said Anitha, a passenger heading to Khammam.

As floodwaters receded by morning, anger among commuters was palpable—Hyderabad cannot afford to wait any longer for its long-promised satellite bus terminals.