Sankranti festive rush peaks at bus and railway stations in Visakhapatnam as people leave for their native places

Passenger rush at the Visakhapatnam railway station on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: V RAJU

The Visakhapatnam railway station and Dwaraka bus complex witnessed peak rush as people start to leave for their native places to celebrate Sankranti festival, here on Saturday. With ‘Bhogi’ festival scheduled on Monday, the rush is expected to increase on Sunday.

People at the Dwaraka Bus Complex in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
V. RAJU

Almost all the buses and trains have been running with 100% occupancy. RTC has already announced special buses from the city to various destinations. Buses heading towards and coming from Amalapuram, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Saluru, Palasa and a few other places, have been running to full capacity since Friday, as educational institutions were given holidays. People carrying infants, children of small ages and elderly persons faced severe inconvenience.

Similarly, the railway station was being flocked by thousands of passengers since early morning. Trains towards Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Howrah and Bengaluru have been witnessing a huge rush. A number of unreserved passengers were forced to board sleeper class coaches of trains running towards Bhubaneswar, due to lack of space in the general compartments.

Cashing in on the demand, private bus operators have started to charge double and triple the price of normal ticket. K. Harish Chowdary, a resident of Kancharapalem, who works as an IT employee in Hyderabad, said that he had to pay ₹3,000 to reach Visakhapatnam in a private travel bus on Friday night. Normally, the price is ₹1,100, he says.

Shared cab services

Many people have been opting for shared cab services in the city to reach their destinations in view of rush. K Sumanth, who is a native of Sompeta along with four others have booked a cab, for ₹4,500 to reach his native place from Seethampeta.

A number of youth are heading to East and West Godavari districts to celebrate the Sankranti festival.

Brisk business

Similarly, garment stores are witnessing a huge rush in the city. The cloth merchants have been doing a brisk business for the past one week. Markets in Jagadamba Junction, Poorna Market, Old Gajuwaka and Gopalapatnam are witnessing heavy rush throughout the day. Traffic snarls are being reported in the evenings.