MGBS operations suspended due to flooding, affecting Dasara season travel

With incessant rains and floodwater from Musi inundating the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), operations in peak Dasara season have been affected on Saturday. It is likely that the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) will continue to keep services from that station suspended for a second day.

The development has affected thousands of passengers who were scheduled to arrive at the bus station to travel to their destinations.

Officials pointed out that while the water had receded later on Saturday, it left behind silt and muck, rendering resumption of operations unfeasible. For safety reasons, electric supply to the bus station has also been cut off. The situation will be assessed on Sunday, and a decision on resumption of operations will be taken.

“There were several passengers who had arrived last night. When the water inundated the station, they were moved out safely by means of our buses and safety teams. Those who came via metro were requested to return. They were directed to locations from where they could take buses,” said J. Srilatha, Regional Manager, Ranga Reddy, TGSRTC.

According to Ms. Srilatha, the MGBS has as many as 2,500 scheduled services that it operates every day. These will be diverted to other pick-up points such as LB Nagar, Uppal, Aramghar and Jubilee Bus Station.

“Buses traveling to Nalgonda, Suryapet and Vijayawada have been directed to LB Nagar; those traveling to Mahbubnagar, Kurnool and Bengaluru to Aramghar; Warangal to Uppal; Nizamabad, Adilabad and Karimnagar to JBS,” she explained. With special buses also operated from these locations, the TGSRTC and traffic police were dealing with a larger passenger and vehicular load.

Ahead of the Dasara season, the TGSRTC was gearing up for an exponential increase in footfall beginning September 27. In order to deal with this spike in passenger activity, the State-run transport undertaking earmarked approximately 7,700 special buses for the purpose.

According to officials, the JBS on Saturday dealt with a much larger number of passengers. This was on account of the ‘extended weekend’ and the holidays for schools.

Earlier on Saturday, TGSRTC Vice Chairman and Managing Director V.C. Sajjanar, who will be the Hyderabad City Police Commissioner, had announced on X, formerly Twitter, that operations at the MGBS were suspended on account of flooding, and directed passengers to take buses from other locations in the city.