All the trains passing through Vijayawada were packed on Friday. | Photo Credit: V RAJU. more-in Heavy rush was seen in bus and railway stations since Friday morning here with people returning to their native villages in coastal districts to celebrate Sankranthi, also known as harvest festival, from Hyderabad and other places. Passengers were waiting in long queues at the bus stand for tickets. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) officials are monitoring the situation round the clock. “The RTC has been operating extra buses for the last three days. There was a heavy rush at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) on Friday, and we expect about 50,000 passengers to reach there by Saturday morning. The corporation has arranged 1,000 special buses and 500 more regular services to help passengers reach their destinations safely,” said APSRTC Executive Director (ED-Operations) G. Jaya Rao. “About 6,000 RTC services, 1,500 private buses and 5,000 personal vehicles will be on the roads in the next five days. We wrote to the toll gate managements to arrange additional staff to prevent traffic congestions,” the ED said. The South Central Railway (SCR) is operating special trains to various destinations to clear the festival rush. Special trains “We are running 142 special trains for Sankranti to different places this year as against 91 last year. Besides, extra coaches have been attached to many trains,” SCR Chief Public Relations Officer M. Umashankar Kumar told The Hindu. The APSRTC was coordinating with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) which was running special buses from Warangal, Nalgonda, Picket and other depots, Mr. Jaya Rao said. Security beefed up Meanwhile, police stepped up security in the bus and railway stations and on the National Highways to prevent thefts and other crimes in view of the heavy crowds.

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