Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Harrowing time for Hyderabad-bound bus passengers

A. Saye Sekhar

CPI(M) leader B.V. Raghavulu among those stranded

VIJAYAWADA: Chilly winds with intermittent drizzle failed to wipe the sweat on the faces of the stranded passengers on National Highway No.9 between Vijayawada and Hyderabad. As if hell hath no fury like nature scorned, flash floods in the small rivulets and drains battered the roads passing through Nalgonda district on Saturday.

Thousands of passengers, who set out on a travel to Hyderabad, bore the brunt of the breach of a small rivulet abutting Choutuppal, groping in the dark whether or not the water would recede for the day.

Mad rush

Heavy vehicles scrambled to overtake one another on NH-9, clogging the traffic movement. Some vehicles took "U" turn to return to the nearest destinations. Traffic remained standstill for over four hours between Suryapet and Chityal what with the waterlogged narrow passage under railway overbridge. Water found its way down the stream, providing reprieve to the restive crowds on the roads. But then, the relief lasted just a few minutes.

No sooner had the vehicles stopped, than the smaller ones including cars and vans began returning even as their disappointed drivers went on informing the waiting passengers en route the bleak chances of traffic clearance. As a few RTC buses began calling off their bid to run towards Hyderabad and chose to return, some restive passengers boarded them to get back home. For passengers who got into the Garuda service of the RTC in Vijayawada, travails began at the very outset. The bus set out almost 45 minutes behind schedule. Amid heavy downpour, driver S.K.M. Vali managed to reach Suryapet bus depot by 2 a.m. He detected a defect in the bus. As the accelerator went out of control, he controlled the coach on the brakes.

Comedy of errors

After a protracted effort to rectify the snag, men at the RTC workshop in Suryapet gave up and asked the driver to take an express bus to cart the passengers to Hyderabad. For, Volvo mechanics are positioned only in Vijayawada and Hyderabad and workmen en route were clueless about it. The passengers cribbed over the comedy of errors by the RTC.

CPI(M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, who also travelled in the bus, and got stranded along with all others, had his partymen at Gundrampalli - between Chityal and Choutuppal -- to supply some bananas and bread to the passengers. Later, he too returned to Chityal and went to call on the injured passengers in the Valigonda train tragedy.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

VMC not in pink of health
Harrowing time for Hyderabad-bound bus passengers
Rain takes the light out of them
Students asked to utilise reforms
RTC forced to suspend 95 services
CPI(M) seeks expert panel on rail tracks
Collector reviews paddy procurement
Man consumes poison in police commissioner's office
Man killed in accident
No animal slaughter on November 1
Around the city
In Vijayawada Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu