Harish Rao Slams RTC Fare Hike During Bathukamma and Dasara Festivals

Former minister and BRS MLA Harish Rao has criticised the Telangana government for increasing TSRTC bus fares during the Bathukamma and Dasara festivals, demanding an immediate rollback to ease the burden on passengers travelling to their native places. He also urged the government to maintain regular bus services and operate additional buses to meet the festive rush.

In a post on X, Harish Rao accused the government of increasing passengers’ expenses instead of offering relief during the festive season. He alleged that the authorities had reduced the number of regular buses and introduced special services with higher fares, forcing commuters to pay more for essential travel.

Citing specific examples, he said the ticket price from Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to Karimnagar had increased from Rs. 230 to Rs. 400. Similarly, the fare from Mahabubnagar to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) had reportedly risen from Rs. 220 to more than Rs. 290.

Harish Rao said the fare increases were particularly affecting poor and middle-income families who wanted to travel to their hometowns to celebrate Bathukamma and Dasara with their relatives. He argued that the higher charges were making festival travel increasingly expensive for ordinary people.

He also questioned the government's implementation of free bus travel for women, contending that charging higher fares to male passengers was placing an additional financial burden on families travelling together.

The BRS leader further alleged that the Congress government had increased RTC ticket fares five times during its three years in office. He criticised the government's transport policy, saying the festive period should not become an opportunity to collect higher fares from passengers.

On behalf of the BRS, Harish Rao demanded that the state government immediately withdraw the festival fare hike, restore regular bus operations and deploy sufficient additional services to accommodate the increased passenger demand. He stressed that affordable public transport was essential to ensure that people could reach their hometowns without facing unnecessary financial hardship during the festive season.