Hyderabad: The Sankranti travel rush caused severe congestion across Hyderabad as lakhs of residents began their journey to native places over the weekend. Police estimated that more than 3 lakh people left the city by Friday and Saturday, creating long queues at bus stands, railway stations, and toll plazas.
With schools closed for the festival and employees availing of the weekend break, families began leaving from early morning. The Hyderabad-Vijayawada and Hyderabad-Warangal highways witnessed slow-moving traffic throughout the day. Several city bus services were diverted to districts like Vijayawada, Warangal, and Vikarabad, leaving local commuters stranded.
Passengers also faced issues with the TSRTC’s ‘Gamyam’ app, which displayed repeated errors like “No city service.” Many reported being unable to check bus availability during peak hours.
RTC app failure and highway congestion mark Sankranti travel rush
Trains including Falaknuma, Visakha, Godavari, and Satavahana Express ran at full capacity. Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) were deployed at major stations to prevent untoward incidents.
Officials monitoring the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway reported that between midnight Friday and 8 AM Saturday, over 21,000 vehicles crossed the Pantangi toll plaza near Choutuppal. Another 22,000 vehicles passed through the same route between 8 AM and 4 PM Saturday. On average, about 2,700 vehicles moved per hour, nearly matching normal two-way daily traffic.
To avoid congestion near Chityala, authorities set up alternate routes and redirected vehicles toward the 365BB highway via Tekumatla in Suryapet. Vehicles heading to Visakhapatnam and Rajamahendravaram were also diverted. Suryapet SP Narasimha and DSP Prasanna Kumar used drone surveillance to monitor traffic flow.