‘Holding areas’ is the novel idea that the Telangana State police are using to try to keep traffic snarl at bay during Krishna Pushkaralu.
In the case of routes from Hyderabad leading to bathing ghats getting choked, devotees travelling by vehicles would be asked to wait at these holding areas.
These points would have toilets. Local administration was asked to allow setting up eateries and make drinking water available for devotees.
“Devotees can relax here for some time. Depending on the size of crowds at the ghats, they may have to wait for a couple of hours and start their journey again,” Mahbubnagar SP Rema Rajeshwari told The Hindu .
Sufficient space is available for parking vehicles at these places. For example, at Kadakuntla in Kothakota police station area, 5,000 vehicles can be halted at the holding area. Learning from traffic congestion and jam witnessed during Godavari Pushkaralu held in July last year, police higher-ups decided to have a separate traffic management plan for Krishna Pushkaralu. In Mahbubnagar district alone, nearly 1,000 policemen led by ASP Kalmeshwar Shingenavar were being positioned for regulation of traffic.
The plan comprised 23 major diversion routes. Police officials managing traffic would be in regular touch with their counterparts in Cyberabad and adjacent Kurnool to assess the flow of traffic and introduce diversion in vehicle movement. Already, multi-lingual traffic advisory posters were being pasted on main roads at dhabas, eateries, and hotels.
The Nalgonda police formed special patrolling parties for traffic regulation. Each team would be in-charge of ensuring smooth free traffic flow for 20 km. All teams would be given a towing vehicle and a crane each. Mechanics would be at their disposal to repair vehicles in case of breakdown.
“Vehicles of devotees would be stopped at parking lots 5 km away from bathing ghats. From there, shuttle services of buses and three-wheelers would be available to reach the ghats,” Nalgonda SP N. Prakash Reddy said. From the entry points of Nalgonda district, special teams would assess the volume of traffic every hour and alert the officials.
