BUS TRAVEL IN HYDERABAD

Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation is shortly known as APSRTC. It is an autonomous body with adequate freedom to decide its policies with necessary support and guidance from the government time to time. It connects almost every part of the state with its rural and urban network of daily bus services. 113Y and 113E route buses are run in Hyderabad as city buses. The prior plies between Uppal and Yousufguda Check Post and the latter between ESI and Uppal. I had to take either one of these two buses to go to my office in Panjagutta. I traveled in these two route buses for about two years as a commuter and I had very bad experience with them. Our office starts by 9:00 a.m. and ends by 5:00 p.m. I used to take this bus by 6:45 a.m. itself every morning to get a seat for me and travel comfortably to the place of work. In the return journey it was almost like hell coming back to our abode struggling to stand among the pressing crowd in the bus. I was compelled to change my lifestyle just to have a happy journey. Thus every day I went to the office remained a sad experience to me because I would miss a free bus if I don’t reach the bus stop by the scheduled time by me. I stopped traveling in those buses after quitting that job. Even today I find these two route buses very crowded. One can see the hell of journey in these buses between 7:30 a.m and 10:30 a.m and 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. even today. It is an endless daily serial I can say. I was infuriated by these bad experiences in my life for months together and so thought of doing something. First I made out my points of concern. The problem is “There is much rush in this route during a few specified hours in the morning and evening because a number of students and employees travel in these buses to their destinations”. The simple solution to this problem is “More number of buses should be run in this route during the peak hours at least”. There is no scarcity of bus manufacturing units in India. They are ready to supply hundreds of buses within months if the orders are given quite in advance specifying the features of the vehicles and where they need to be used. I seriously wrote a letter to Kalajito Saivinu, a retired Supreme Court judge living in Hyderabad. I received a reply from him within a week. It read, “I am also a helpless victim of this system in our nation. Hundreds of commuters are daily facing hell to travel in these buses. The suffering and strain felt by girls and working women is anyhow there. Many accidents and deaths took place during the last ten years due to this unhealthy public transport system. I don’t think that you can resolve this issue filing a case on APSRTC or the state government in any court in India because millions of serious cases are also sleeping in these abodes of justice delivery. I know the menace of judiciary in India as a judge. I once asked my friend why the higher officials and policy-makers associated with this corporation are not doing anything in this regard to provide the passengers with a delightful journey on a daily basis. I was shocked to know the truth. He told me that highly impotent men and women would be appointed as the chief executives of this setup. Those that fail to enjoy their sex life at home or outside owing to their permanent internal problems can never take good decisions for refining any system under their supervision. Resultantly they sit in the AC rooms watching films of filth and licking the skins of the paid service providers. They never see the reality standing in a few bus stops in the twin cities for a few days. People without enthusiasm to do something good for the society are a waste burden on our earth. Unfortunately 75% of the persons heading the government units are old in body and sick in mind. Some dynamic youth with love for the common and burning fire in the belly to reform the system should come into these core areas of daily public suffering. I don’t think that I can see such happy times in our nation before I die. Remember me for once if you ever see such a happy trend of governance and administration in any part of our nation. I felt very happy after reading your letter. I liked the fire in your thoughts and the kindness and idealism in your love for the common people. Continue seeing everything from a broader perspective to remain dynamic in personality and universal in outlook toward the humanity at large. May God bless you!” After reading his letter I understood that one should learn to live in the hell when everybody else is doing the same without a collective spirit. One cannot change a system remaining awake when all are sleeping around him being affected by the chronic diseases of complacence and self-centeredness.

Datla Chiranjeevi Raju