Sankranthi rush: Trains, buses crammed
NALGONDA/MAHBUBNAGAR: The Sankranthi rush has begun and the chaotic scenes at the Secunderbad railway station bear witness to this fact. People are seen standing shoulder to shoulder at the platform, all in the hope of being able to spend some quality time with their loved ones this festive season. A major festival in Andhra, Sankranthi is the time when a majority of Seemandhra people working in Telangana take a break from work and head home. Working professionals and families alike have been heading down south in huge numbers.
Moreover, two toll gates, one on on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway 65 and another Narketpally-Addanki Highway on Thursday has been witnessing a massive gridlockled. Hundreds of people are taking road transport - buses and private vehicles - to reach their native place across the Telangana border. However, the travellers had to wait, sometime as much as an hour, for a vehicle to cross the tollgate counters at Panthangi, Korlapadu, and Madugulapally on NH-65.
While the Korlapadu toll gate has 12 counters (six each), in view of the heavy rush from Hyderabad, eight additional counters have been facilitated. Panthangi toll gate, which has 16 counters, is using 11 counters for vehicles from Hyderabad to Vijayawada route. Madugulapally toll gate, which has eight counters, is using five counters for Addanki route vehicles. Toll gate organisers said that around 2,000 vehicles pass through this route towards Vijayawada. Police have been deployed to regulate the traffic at these toll gates.
Demonetisation at work
While not as enthusiastic about Sankranthi as the folks from Rayalaseema also celebrate Sankranthi but the festive mood seems to have dampened this year, courtesy of demonetisation. The toll plaza at Addakula in Mahbubnagar district witnessed normal traffic towards Rayalaseema districts. An employee at Addakula toll plaza said that traffic been less than last year, adding that the note ban may be to blame.