A large number of commuters in Hyderabad on Monday took to the Metro as the ongoing strike by employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) intensified.
With Telangana Congress leaders and workers attempting to lay siege to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s residence in support of the strike, the police took a bizarre decision, to shut down the Begumpet station for public use briefly, further inconveniencing office goers.
Begumpet is a key area in the heart of Hyderabad, and the metro station receives one of the highest footfalls after interchange stations. Schools re-opening after Dasara holidays on Monday only added to the woes of the public.
This resulted in massive traffic snarls across the city, especially stalling those who were travelling from Secunderabad to Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) Managing Director N V S Reddy said that the footfall of the metro crossed four lakh on Monday, which was a new record.
Noticing a heavy rush of commuters right from the morning, the HMRL said that they extended the peak hours and ran trains with a frequency of 3.5 and 4.5 minutes, and with a 6 and 7-minute frequency during the rest of the day.
The HMRL MD said that four extra trains and 120 extra trips were carried out, which took the total number of trips to 830, against the 710 trips that the metro was carrying out, before the TSRTC strike began.
Meanwhile, hundreds of policemen were deployed around Pragati Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s official residence, to stop protesters. Police officials also searched hotels and lodges in Begumpet and surrounding areas to check if Congress workers were staying there.
The Congress party had called for a “Chalo Pragati Bhavan” to protest the government’s adamant attitude over the demands of TSRTC employees, whose strike entered the 17th day on Monday.
The Chief Minister has ruled out talks with the employees and declared that over 48,000 dismissed themselves by not joining duties.
