Hyderabad, December 07: With the agitation for separate Telangana intensifying, the private bus operators from Andhra region have scaled down their operations to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and are contemplating total withdrawal of services.
The private travel managements have already curtailed the services by 40 per cent as the agitators targeted private buses and have decided to terminate services temporarily if the agitation continues in the Telangana region for some more days, said G Ganesh, regional coordinator of Kesineni Travels and Tours.
Already six private buses have been damaged at Kukatpally, Balanagar, Qutubulahpur in the twin cities. “Drivers and cleaners are scared of working at nights. We keep in touch with them every hour to know whether they are safe,’’ he added.
Since Saturday the private operators have suspended services to the twin cities in view of the two-day Telangana Bandh called by the TRS. Though initially private bus operators announced that the services would be resumed after the bandh, it is likely that they may not resume the services. Sridhar Rao, a private travel operator, said that if the agitators showed no signs of calming down, they would cancel bus services from Hyderabad and other places. As many as 70 buses, belonging to Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and three Setwin buses were damaged in a single day and three private travel buses burnt at Balanagar, Quttbullapur and Kukatpally ever since the TRS resumed the agitation. At least six private buses were set on fire by the agitators in different places in the Telangana region.
“We are running buses from Hyderabad to Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions and not other parts of Telangana.
We are planning to cancel all services as the agitators are targeting private vehicles,’’ Sridhar Rao said.
As many as 1,000 private buses ply from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Bhimavaram, Eluru, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram in the coastal Andhra region; and Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool and Chittoor in the Rayalaseema region.
“Scared private bus operators cancelled at least 40 per cent buses from Hyderabad to other places in the State even before the TRS had called for the bandh. Only a few buses are being plied and they increased the ticket charges by at least 50 per cent. We charge Rs 300 for a ticket to Vijayawada, and Rs 400 to Rajahmundry, Kakinda, and Eluru,’’ said N Ravi Kumar, a private travel agent at Ameerpet.
According to a private bus operator at Kukatpally, 200 private buses ply every day from Patancheru and Kukatpally to other places in the State.
–Agencies