VIJAYAWADA: Despite more than 2,000 special buses and 50 extra trains being operated from the city to clear the Sankranti rush, commuters were seen struggling to buy tickets on Sunday. City railway and bus stations were jam-packed with people visiting their natives on the festive occasion.
"It has been more than seven hours that I have been waiting to buy three bus tickets for Hyderabad. I just hope that I reach there at least by tomorrow (Monday) morning. Travelling to Hyderabad, which is usually a seven to eight hours affair, has turned into a 24-hour one," Rahim Sheikh rued.
Some commuters were also seen trying their luck at both train and bus tickets. "While I am trying to buy tickets at the bus stand, my wife is standing in the queue at the railway station. We decided to do this as the railway station and bus stand are only a few minutes apart," Boppanna Murthy said.
Not just this, commuters were also seen struggling to find spaces to park their vehicles. "Several use the parking facility at the bus stand as it is safe and leave for their hometowns for a couple of days. However, due to overcrowding, we only provide parking facility for a few hours," said Ravi Kumar, an attendant at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) parking lot.
The scenario at the Vijayawada railway station was not much different. Thronging the platforms, people tried to get into the Suvidha trains--some with ticket, some without. "We have been trying to buy tickets for the past two days. However, we have been unsuccessful. For how long should we wait?" Vishwanath Reddy, who was trying to reach Visakhapatnam, said.
Another traveller, Mohammed Abbaz, who wished to take his family of four to Secunderabad, said, "We need four tickets--two for my wife and I and two more for my children. But we managed to get just two."
Meanwhile, despite strict vigil, private operators are allegedly demanding extra money from the passengers. "This is the season when we can earn the maximum. Also, we have not increased the ticket amount very much," said Teja, a driver of a private operator that increased all its ticket rates by Rs 150.