It is not just demonstrations and processions but even breakdowns of RTC buses, which are resulting in traffic jams in the State capital, almost everyday.
On an average, at least two RTC bus breakdowns are reported daily on the city roads. In the first 16 days of February, RTC buses broke down 55 times on different routes holding up traffic for hours together.
With the frequency of bus breakdowns going up, the traffic police are struggling to find a solution.
Traffic snarls arising out of road accidents and road blockades could be cleared in a short time.
“But it is turning out to be a tough task when a bus breaks down as reaching the vehicle which gets stuck amid other vehicles is taking a longer time,” the traffic police officials say.
Increased problem
It is all the more difficult if the vehicle gets stuck on a fly-over which has happened several times.
The police had to both divert vehicles and take the crane to the breakdown spot to shift the bus simultaneously.
A week ago, five RTC buses failed on the roads in western part of the city on the same day during evening peak hours.
“First we'll call up the concerned RTC authorities. It is taking time for them to send their team of mechanics to the spot,” the Punjagutta Traffic ACP, K.M. Madhu, said.
Police say they are in a dicey situation since they cannot afford to leave the bus on the road throwing the traffic out of gear and cannot risk damage while shifting it using the means available.
Two cranes
In one instance, the police had to press into service two cranes to move a bus that failed on Road no. 1 of Banjara Hills as a single crane could not move it. The traffic police maintain they had written to RTC authorities over the increasing number of bus breakdowns and how that was hampering the free flow of traffic.
