HYDERABAD: It would be yet another year of Dasara festivities without sufficient commute options for scores of travellers between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh after a stalemate continued in the talks between APSRTC and TSRTC.
The two road transport undertakings have been sparring over how many kilometres, either side can run in the other State and also on the route permits and timings. Presently, TSRTC buses run in 1.6 lakh km of AP, while APSRTC operates its buses in 2.6 lakh km of Telangana.
On Friday, yet another round of these talks failed. The next round of talks are slated for Monday, leaving no inter-state government buses for people to use for the festivities on Sunday.
“The discussions are still ongoing with APSRTC. There is no final decision on the kilometres to be operated, nor on the route permits or timings. The discussion will continue on Monday,” said Executive Director, Operations E Yadagiri.
The issue spiralled after TSRTC raised an objection against the APSRTC deploying many more buses in Telangana than it itself did in AP. Owing to this, TSRTC asked APSRTC to reduce the kilometres it operated in Telangana and also take permits for a limited number of buses in each route.
However, the APSRTC has been negotiating on different terms, asking TSRTC to increase the kilometres it operates inside AP. Telangana has been incapacitated to do so as it has a limited number of buses, fewer than 10,000.
Meanwhile, interstate travellers to Godavari and Krishna districts are finding the scenario tough to deal with. The ticket prices in private buses are as high as Rs 2,000.