NH-65 sees 35,000 vehicles as commuters return early due to Amavasya.
Hyderabad: Highways, expressways and major train and bus stations leading to the city remained jam-packed as some returned home after celebrating Sankranti. However, traffic congestion was noticed only in specific pockets of the city. As a result, commuters also witnessed a surge in prices of auto rickshaws and cabs, even on some ride-hailing applications.
The worst-affected stretch was the National Highway-65, the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, where traffic police estimated that at least 30,000-35,000 vehicles passed through on Sunday. Owing to Amavasiya on Sunday, a lot of returnees had pre-poned their travel.
“While we were expecting more vehicles on Sunday, we saw 10 per cent more commuters coming from Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. It appeared as though people had pre-planned their travel as many do not want to reach home on Amavasiya,” said Malkajgiri traffic DCP V Sreenivasulu.
Vehicles went towards the ORR from NH-65 and later towards Pedda Amberpet. To ease vehicular movement, toll gates near Pedda Amberpet ORR were opened. “Vehicle moved three ways from the ORR — one towards the Gachibowli route and further towards Shamshabad and Nanakramguda, while others moved towards Ghatkesar, and the rest of the lot moved towards Hayathnagar and further towards LB Nagar,” DCP Sreenivasulu said.
In the Hyderabad city commissionerate, traffic volume remained high at major railway and bus stations including the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), Jubilee Bus Station (JBS), and the Secunderabad railway stations.
Around four traffic police personnel were deployed on a single stretch, within just 400-500 metres, from the Secunderabad railway station towards the Regional Passport office.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a traffic home guard deployed near Secunderabad railway station, Tirupathi, said, “This rush has been there since 8 am in the morning and we have been working in shifts to control the traffic. We have a lot of special trains going from here. A lot of people are returning to the city after celebrating Sankranti.”
For locals, the rush was normal during this season. “We see this type of rush when there are special trains and often during the Sankrant. This might continue for a few more days. There are also traffic restrictions across the city, which is intensifying the problem,” said Azharuddin, who runs a stall outside the railway station.
While routes leading to Secunderabad east metro station, Regimental Bazar and AOC from the railway station remained congested, Musheerabad-Chikkadpally routes remained almost empty until 5 pm. Kacheguda railway station road remained heavily congested, but eased down near Barkatpura, Esamia Bazar and Nimboliadda.
In Cyberabad, traffic congestion prevailed on some stretches from the ORR towards Gachibowli. Vehicle influx was observed in some parts of the Gachibowli-Miyapur road. Parts of Hitec city road and the Kondapur-Kothaguda flyover appeared to be congested, while many other routes remained clear.
According to traffic officials, Sankranti returnees slightly contributed to the vehicular rush on these stretches. “On weekdays, we have 1,20,000 or more vehicles on these stretches. On weekends too, we have at least 80,000 vehicles, but owing to a lot of people returning, vehicle numbers are estimated to have gone up to 1,00,000 or so. Highways and expressways remained congested though,” Madhapur traffic DCP T. Manohar Sai said.
Some ride-hailing applications and local autos witnessed a surge in prices, while many remained normal towards the evening. Metro and bus stations were packed around Secunderabad and MGBS. Other areas the metro covered had normal passenger movement. Additional forces from traffic and Armed Reserve (AR) were deployed at major traffic-prone junctions in all three commissionerates.
