The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will operate 3,000 buses to Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool districts from August 12 to 23 for Krishna Pushkarams, corporation’s Managing Director and Vice-Chairman N. Sambasiva Rao has said. The RTC would ply services to Vedadri, Muktyala, Amaravati, Seetanagaram, Tallayapalem, Penumudi, Bichupalli, Sangameswaram, Srisailam (Lingala Gattu), and other major ghats during the utsavams, Mr. Rao, who is also DGP, said at a press conference here on Tuesday.
The APSRTC was making all arrangements for the convenience of pilgrims and about 25,000 employees were deployed for pushkarams duty. Free bus facility would be provided for devotees from Pushkar Ghats, Pushkar Nagars, Satellite Bus Stations, and Satellite Railway Stations.
“Free transportation will begin from August 11 midnight and continue till the end of the river festival,” he said.
The Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) will turn into City Bus Terminal during the pushkarams and buses coming from different places will be stopped at the satellite bus stations. Devotees can avail themselves of the free transport facility almost on all routes in the city.
“We are operating free bus services with bus numbers ‘1B’, ‘2B’, `1S’, ‘1P’, etc. The alphabet ‘B’ indicates Bhavani Ghat, ‘S’ indicates Pavitra Sangamam Ghat, and ‘P’ indicates Padmavathi Ghat. We plan to ply free services for every three minutes touching all the ghats and bus stations in and around the city,” Mr. Sambasiva Rao said.
There would be no reservation facility for RTC services from Vijayawada during pushkarams and devotees and general passengers were requested to take current bookings from the satellite bus stations. However, some buses coming from Hyderabad would be allowed up to PNBS, he said. RTC buses coming to Vijayawada from East and West Godavari districts will halt at NTR Health University. Buses bound for Vijayawada from Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram will be stopped at Y.V. Rao Estates and services coming from Hyderabad will be halted at Zakir Hussain College.
