Commuters in Hyderabad – and some other parts of Telangana – are facing major traffic hurdles on Sunday, as several lakh people find their way towards the Pragathi Nivedana Sabha being held by the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) near Hyderabad.
Traffic moved slowly also along the National Highway 44 that runs through the city, and vehicle movement along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) also came to a standstill. Traffic-choked ORR as 7,300 Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses that have been hired by the ruling party to ferry supporters to the event moved, towards the venue of the rally at Kongara Kalan.
Supporters of the TRS party came from across the state to the venue in buses, cars, tractors and some even in cycles. To keep the traffic moving, police had even forced small hotels and shops to shut. The shopkeepers TNM spoke to said, the police did not want the party cadres to stop at these shops and hotels thus adding to the slow movement of traffic.
Party supporters in tractors have been arriving towards the venue from the eve of August 31, two days before the event. The city traffic police had then issued advisory and even came up with a map requesting people to find alternative routes
By Sunday evening, Traffic moved at snail's pace from Kothur along Pedda Golkonda to Sreenagar and towards Bongloor all the way along ORR leading up to Thimmaipally.
The Hyderabad City traffic police tweeted requesting those who have to reach the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) to take alternative routes.
Vistara airlines tweeted requesting their passengers to take into consideration the traffic before heading out to the airport.
#TravelUpdate Due to Pragathi Nivedhana Sabha in Hyderbad, heavy traffic congestion is expected on roads connecting towards airport. Customers travelling from Hyderabad are advised to allow more time for their journey to the airport.
— Vistara (@airvistara) September 2, 2018
The Cyberabad traffic police in their traffic advisory asked those heading towards the Hyderabad airport to plan their travel at least two hours ahead. Airport bound vehicles have also been asked to avoid the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and take roads inside the city, like the PVNR Expressway.
The Kongara Kalan village spanning 2000 acres will play host to an estimated 25 lakh people, according to the TRS.