VIJAYAWADA: The Indian Railways and State-owned Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) earned good revenue during the 12-day Krishna Pushkarams. The APSRTC earned Rs 32 crore, while the SCR netted Rs 47 crore.
The APSRTC transported nearly 90 lakh pilgrims and SCR 42 lakh pilgrims. The APSRTC operated 9,000 buses to provide hassle free journey for the pilgrims visiting Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool during the mega event.
In Vijayawada alone, the RTC operated the highest number of 1,000 special buses, followed by Guntur district (561) and Kurnool district (450). The corporation had made foolproof arrangements and transported 4.5 lakh passengers per day. Around 400 free bus services were operated from six satellite bus stations here to ferry pilgrims to Pushkar Nagars. Around 25,000 workers were deployed on pushkaram duties.
APSRTC executive director (administration) A Venkateswara Rao said that the corporation operated a total of 1,66,616 trips in 9,000 special buses to ferry pushkar pilgrims. “A total 64,629 trips were operated from Pandit Nehru Bus Station here,” he said.
“The RTC earned around Rs 32 crore by operating buses to various destinations, while it incurred a burden of Rs 11 crore through free bus services to ferry passengers in Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool districts,” he added.
“The SCR operated 600 special trains and rush was witnessed on Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada-Hyderabad and Vijayawada-Tirupati routes,” SCR special officer P Ramesh Babu said, adding that it earned around Rs 47 crore.