Dasara rush chokes highways out of Hyderabad, long queues at toll plazas

Major highways connecting Hyderabad to different districts witnessed heavy vehicular traffic on Saturday as the Dasara festive rush peaked, with long queues of vehicles piling up at several toll plazas.

Traffic congestion was reported from Saturday morning on roads leading to various districts as people left the city to celebrate the festival in their native towns. Officials expect the rush to continue on Sunday.

The Hyderabad-Vijayawada, Hyderabad-Warangal, Hyderabad-Karimnagar and Hyderabad-Kurnool highways were among the major routes that experienced heavy traffic.

Despite efforts by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and toll operators to manage the flow of vehicles, the combination of weekend travel and festive rush resulted in significant



congestion.

At the Patangi toll plaza near Choutuppal on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, vehicles, particularly cars, were caught in long queues. The slow progress of flyover and service road works at Choutuppal further aggravated traffic snarls.

Similar scenes were reported at the Raikal toll plaza on the Hyderabad-Kurnool route, where vehicles were caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Ongoing works at Balanagar, progressing at a slow pace, also affected traffic heading towards Jadcherla and other destinations beyond Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) witnessed a heavy rush of passengers. Women and children were among those seen boarding buses in large numbers to reach their respective destinations for the festival.