Hyderabad: Fearing RTC buses going off the roads, people rushed to railway and bus stations a day earlier to make it home for the festival. The railways responded positively to the government’s request to run additional trains. Lakhs of people travel home in buses and trains for the Dasara festival and the strike has come at the wrong time.
City resident Hariprasad who had queued up at the Jubilee bus terminus said, “My mother called me and said that there would be no RTC buses from October 5. She asked me to return today to Huzurnagar so that I would not miss the festival.”
He said that some of his friends were going to their hometowns in advance. Others were planning to travel in personal vehicles.
An TSRTC driver said that apart from depot managers, all RTC employees would be on strike.
In this scenario, it is the private bus agencies that are making the most out of the situation following the strike call given by RTC employees. A Rs 350 ticket is being sold for up to Rs 1,000. Some passengers claimed that those who have already booked at lower prices were auctioning the tickets.
The RTC had accepted about 50,000 tickets online for the festive season to various destinations.
Officials said that the passengers would either be provided alternative transportation or refunded the money in case of cancellation of service.
