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Mini-theatres in bus stations planned
The cash-strapped Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), which is looking at ways and means to generate revenues, is planning to call tenders for mini-theatres and commercial complex in bus stations after Dasara festival.
​Hyderabad: The cash-strapped Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), which is looking at ways and means to generate revenues, is planning to call tenders for mini-theatres and commercial complex in bus stations after Dasara festival.
The officials have been taking several measures to generate revenue other than the traditional way for overcoming the huge losses. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who chaired a day-long review meeting to bring the RTC into profits during June, had suggested the officials to look out for ways and means for generating more revenue.
One of the suggestions was to have mini-theatres and commercial complexes in the bus stations. According to a senior official, the passengers, particularly the long distance travelers who come to bus stations, have to wait for long time in the stations. They would find the mini-theatres and commercial complexes ideal for spending the leisure time.
Similarly, the provision of commercial complex would also offer different options to the passengers, added the official. The corporation is looking to have the model of Vadodara, where the commercial complex is fetching good revenues to the State-owned corporation in Gujarat.
The management is optimistic that this would be a success as there have been queries by film fraternity in this regard. According to sources, Telangana producers and mini theater owners’ cooperative society has made a representation to the management seeking space in some bus stations for setting up of mini-theatres.
The TSRTC Greater Hyderabad Zone executive director A Purushottam Naik told The Hans India that some of the agencies had approached the corporation for setting of mini-theatres. “One of the agencies, which has identified Patancheru bus station as ideal spot had urged the corporation to give it on nomination basis.
We cannot give anything on nomination basis in the corporation, tenders have to be called in for this,” said Naik. There is scope for the mini-theater in other stations like Kushaiguda, Kukkatpally also. He said that modalities were being finalised for the mini-theatres for issues like who would take care of the up-keep of the theatres, terms of use, ticketing charges, revenue sharing etc, he said adding that the tenders would be called after Dasara festival.
There are 23 bus stations under Hyderabad Zone and over 90 in Telangana. According to official figures, over 33 lakh passengers travel in the city buses alone and over one crore all over the State. Experts say that the move would not only provide an opportunity to the passengers waiting for their buses to catch a film during their wait, but would help in attracting normal audiences with the cheap ticket pricing nearly half of what the multiplex charge.
By K Chandrashekar
