The biennial Sammakka-Sarakka Jatara at Medaram proved to be a boon for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), which reaped riches by plying special buses to the site from various parts of the integrated Karimnagar district.
Carried 2 lakh devotees
In view of the four-day jatara from February 5 to 8, TSRTC-Karimnagar Region operated 600 special buses (4,971 trips) from February 2 from Karimnagar, Godavarikhani, Huzurabad, Peddapalli, Vemulawada, Sircilla, Jagtial, Metpally and Manthani among other places. With this, it catered to 2.01 lakh passengers to the tribal fair.
ADVERTISEMENT
The profits this time have touched ₹5.47 crore as compared to ₹4.35 crore during the 2018 jatara when it had plied 531 buses (4,904 trips) and ferried 1.85 lakh passengers to Medaram.
A break-up of depot-wise revenue stands as such — Godavarikhani (₹92.84 lakh), Jagtial (₹78.20 lakh), Karimnagar 2 (₹63.62 lakh), Manthani (₹55.79 lakh), Karimnagar 1 (₹54.64 lakh), Huzurabad (₹54.08 lakh), Sircilla (₹47.19 lakh), Vemulawada (₹28.74 lakh) and Metpally (₹27.14 lakh).
A majority of Medaram-bound devotees preferred RTC buses for safety reasons as also because of the fact that they could get down very close to the gaddelu (altar) where the deities were placed. For private modes of transport, their vehicles were stopped almost 8 km from the jatara epicentre.
ADVERTISEMENT
The RTC has received appreciation for its prompt services and round-the-clock operation of buses during the jatara period by setting up special ticket counters, medical camps, drinking water facilities etc. Incidentally, RTC authorities ensured that the buses plied as soon as the total occupancy ratio was reached.
Safety ensured
Regional Manager Jeevan Prasad said that they had operated the special buses to the “utmost satisfaction of commuters”. “The safety and security of the passengers travelling in RTC buses was taken care of and there was not a single accident during the jatara,” he stated, showering praise on the conductors and drivers and also other RTC officials for the systematic operation of buses.