Warangal: As many as 12,000 employees of the RTC would be plying devotees to Medaram during the historic Sammakka-Sarala-mma Jatara this year from February 14 to 21, said transport minister P. Mahender Reddy. He said arrangements are in place to push another 2,000 buses into service in case the 3,506 buses already bookmarked for Medaram are not sufficient.
Mr Mahender, along with Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari visited Medaram on Friday to oversee the arrangements made for the Jatara. A temporary bus stand was set up at the village. RTC was allocated about 50 acres of land between Tadvai and Medaram for parking and accommodation for employees.
About 36 ticket issuing counters were setup where electronic machines will be used to issue tickets at a fast pace. “Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has sanctioned Rs2 crore for RTC to provide services to devotees during the tribal fair. We expected a revenue of Rs 28 crore last time but we got Rs 21 crore. This time we expect to earn more than that,” he said.
RTC regional manager G. Satyanarayana, regional manager E. Yadagiri and other officials accompanied the ministers.
After holding a review meeting with officials of various departments, collector Vakati Karuna directed officers to report to duties at Medaram from February 14 itself.
