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Pushkaralu turn into a gold mine
Highlights
It is not just private travels and cab owners who are laughing their way to the bank ferrying pilgrims to the several ghats in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh but the cash-strapped Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) too is adding revenues to its coffers. Till Tuesday, the corporation made revenues to the tune of Rs 13 crore by transporting close to 16 lakh people.
- TSRTC rakes in Rs 13 crore revenue so far
- TSTDC reports a revenue of Rs 20 lakh
- SCR records 3.12 million passengers
- Postal dept has sold 7.5 lakh bottles of water from Godavari
It is not just private travels and cab owners who are laughing their way to the bank ferrying pilgrims to the several ghats in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh but the cash-strapped Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) too is adding revenues to its coffers. Till Tuesday, the corporation made revenues to the tune of Rs 13 crore by transporting close to 16 lakh people.
With more than 21,000 trips and counting, the TSRTC is expecting a handsome sum in the remaining days. A senior official of TSRTC, on the condition of anonymity, said that since Tuesday, 3,586 special buses which included 8,977 trips, have helped cater to a lot of passengers from Telangana.
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Private bus operators too are adding additional buses especially for people who are returning back to Hyderabad. “Many have arranged onward travel but are stuck without reservation in trains. We are adding buses,” said Ram Mohan of Ganga Travels. In 2003, over 2 crore pilgrims attended Pushkarams in Rajamundry and Basara Gnana Saraswati temples located on the banks of River Godavari. This year the number is expected to peak to 6 crore.
Even the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) is running special buses and the corporation made revenues of Rs 20 lakh. Officials are hopeful that it would touch Rs 30 lakh by the end of the festival. An official of TSTDC said that the advantage of their buses is, unlike private carriers, their buses take the pilgrims close to the ghats.
Pilgrims are visiting 250 Pushkar Ghats in Andhra Pradesh and 69 in Telangana. The South Central Railway (SCR) has meanwhile recorded about 3.12 million passengers travelling to the Pushkaralu till Tuesday. The postal department too has collected 75,000 litres of water from River Godavari and purified and packaged the same in 500 ml bottles.
Till date 7.5 lakh bottles have been ordered from across India and the globe. The bottle is priced at Rs 20 and is being dispatched through 16,150 post offices in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Circle. “The second phase of the bookings for God Jal has started and the response is good. We would be accepting bookings till July 30,” said B Sudhakar, chief postmaster general.
By:T P Venu
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