TSRTC bus pressed in for Hajipur girls after triple rape-murder, abruptly suspended
By Newsmeter Network Published on 5 Jan 2020 11:51 AM GMT
Highlights
- Lone service curtailed abruptly
- School-bound students have to trek long distance
Hyderabad: It was short-lived jubilation for students from Hajipur and around 20 adjoining villages in Yadadri Bhongir district. Even before the joy of having TSRTC bus service facilities could sink in, the service, which was launched amid fanfare from Kushaiguda eight months back, has been suspended abruptly. The RTC authorities cited less occupancy ratio and losses as the reasons for withdrawing the facility.
The travails were quite poignant. All those villages were virtually cut-off from the outside world in the absence of public transport. However, children keen on studying managed to go to the neighboring Keesara for studies. Walking from Hajipur village till the main road and taking an auto-rickshaw to reach the school at Keesara was a daunting daily routine for all the children. And it was the same tale on their return from school. Only some boys boasted of bicycles.
Taking advantage of this walking, one Marri Srinivas Reddy, a crane operator from the same village, started targeting girls. He would wait on the main road on his bike and offered to drop girls from his village. In the process, he raped and killed them. Later their bodies were buried in the abandoned agricultural wells on the village outskirts.
Srinivas Reddy killed three girls in the same way. His barbaric crimes came to light in May. It was found that the lack of public transport to the village had to such atrocities.
Immediately the villagers raised their long-pending demand for a bus to the village. Later with the intervention of Rachakonda police and the public outcry, a bus service was started from Kushaiguda. The bus starting from ECIL in Hyderabad would travel to Hajipur via Bommalaramaram and covered six trips per day. It helped both students and villagers.
However, the service was suspended recently. Though villagers brought it to the notice of higher authorities, nothing much has happened. On Saturday, they again approached the Kushaiguda depot manager and submitted a representation requesting for a resumption of the bus service.
