No Mahalakshmi scheme impact on Medaram Jatara; TSRTC withdraws extra services

Hyderabad: Contrary to TSRTC’s expectation of a rush of women devotees to Medaram for Samakka-Saralamma Jatara, making use of the Mahalakshmi free bus travel scheme, the actual passenger turnout took RTC officials by surprise.

TSRTC was all geared up and made necessary arrangements to meet its anticipated heavy rush for three days. However, the occupancy was distributed and even across buses since women travelled with their families.

Speaking to NewsMeter, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation MD VC Sajjanar informed that there was no impact of the Mahalakshmi scheme on the biennial tribal fair. “We expected an increase in the number of women passengers, but it did not happen,” the senior IPS officer said, adding that the exact passenger footfall and zero tickets issued will be known in a few days.

20 lakh devotees used buses for jatara in 2020

It may be mentioned here that nearly 20 lakh devotees travelled by RTC buses for Medaram Jatara in Feb 2020 (just before the Covid pandemic stuck the nation). Festival goers using buses dropped to 11 lakhs for the 2022 Jatara when people were still coming to grips with the post-pandemic situation.

RTC officials expected a 50 per cent jump (30 lakh passengers including men and women) this time compared to footfall in 2020 of nearly 20 lakhs, taking into consideration the Mahalakshmi scheme.

Revenue to Telangana temples increased

It may be mentioned here that various pilgrimage places in Telangana including Yadadri, Vemulawada, Bhadrachalam, Basar, Alampur etc. are witnessing a rush of women devotees after the introduction of the free bus rides scheme. The Endowment Department got Rs 93.24 crores in revenue in December and Rs 68.69 crores in January, thanks to the Mahalakshmi scheme.

In this backdrop, RTC left no stone unturned to meet any kind of eventuality. Additional buses were identified and kept on standby for pressing into service if needed. Also, queue lines to board buses from Medaram to various locations were increased this time to nearly 50. Additional parking spaces were also earmarked to park the buses reaching from different districts to the tiny hamlet in Tadwai forests of Mulugu district.

TSRTC planned to deploy 2,000 buses under GHMC

V Venkateshwarulu, ED, Greater Hyderabad region, TSRTC, stated that the plan was to send nearly 2,000 of the total 2,800 city buses from the Greater Hyderabad region expecting passenger rush, especially after the Mahalakshmi initiative commenced.

“Already 1,300 buses were sent to various depots in erstwhile Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal districts for three days. Another 700 buses were identified for On Call duty. A communication just a day before was enough to press these 700 buses into service to ferry passengers. However, as there is no big rush of passengers, we have withdrawn the On Call buses and sent them back to city routes as usual,” the senior official said.

The 1,300 buses deputed for Medaram Jatara will head to the city from Friday midnight.