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All roads lead to Andhra Pradesh now for Andhrites residing in Hyderabad, thanks to the elections.
There has been an exodus of people to various destinations in Andhra Pradesh from here, choking the national highway leading to Vijayawada.
Long wait at toll plazas
The toll plazas are witnessing heavy rush with long lines of vehicles with queues extending up to 1.5 km at Pathangi Toll Plaza in Yadadri-Bhongir district on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada Highway.
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is running nearly 500 special buses between various destinations in Hyderabad and Telangana to cater to the rush.
Private travel companies are making a killing by increasing the fares three to four times. While the normal fare in an air-conditioned luxury bus generally costs ₹600-700, the fares now are in the range of ₹1,500-2,500 depending on the type of vehicle as seen in the online reservation portals. Even State-run buses charge 50 per cent higher fare for the special buses.
“This is unfair as right to vote is a constitutional right and adequate facilities should be provided at normal cost to travel to vote,” Ramesh Rao hailing from Nandigama in Andhra Pradesh told BusinessLine at the jam-packed Hyderabad main bus station at Imlibun here.
Other routes also hit
Non-voters are also hit as services between Hyderabad and other State destinations such as Mumbai, Pune and Bangaluru have been cancelled to tide over the shortage of buses for more profitable routes.
“I was informed this afternoon by my travel operator that the evening bus service to Mumbai has been cancelled,” S Subrahmanyam a software professional working in Pune, said.
The South Central Railway has also announced 36 special trains to Andhra Pradesh from Secunderabad/Hyderabad in addition to 40 trains daily.
While those who left yesterday and who had advance reservation are going by buses and trains, most of those travelling today or tonight prefer private vehicles such as cars and vans.
Free rides from politicians
Some political parties are running ‘special free coaches’ to ship known AP voters now living in Hyderabad.
According to a senior Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation official, the number of those hailing from Andhra Pradesh living in Hyderabad could be around 20-25 lakh.
“However, all of them may not have votes in AP now. But Many private employees, students, and working class people are going, which could be to the tune of 8 to 10 lakh,’’ he said.
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