Commuters in Hyderabad experienced significant delays at bus stops on February 20 as the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) diverted a large portion of its fleet to the Medaram Jatara, scheduled from February 21 to 24. With over half of its buses redirected to support the annual tribal festival, regular bus services were severely impacted, leading to extended wait times for passengers. The surge in demand for transportation alternatives also caused autorickshaw fares to increase during this period.
Initially, TSRTC had announced plans to deploy 6,000 buses, including 1,800 from Hyderabad, to facilitate transportation for an estimated 30 lakh devotees expected to attend Asia’s largest tribal festival. However, the diversion of buses for the Jatara disrupted the usual commuting patterns of everyday passengers. VC Sajjanar, the managing director of TSRTC, appealed to the public for understanding and cooperation during this period of service adjustment.
To accommodate the influx of devotees traveling to the Sammakka Saralamma Medaram Jatara, TSRTC organized a fleet of 6,000 special buses, with most of them diverted from city and district depots to Medaram. Additionally, TSRTC set up 51 camps in various districts, including Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar, and Adilabad, to facilitate the movement of devotees and ensure smooth transportation logistics during the festival period.
