City Private Buses and Hoteliers were smacking their lips as Krishna Pushkaram festival is fast approaching. According to the government estimates, people not less than Three Crore will be visiting the ghats in Vijayawada during the 12 days festival. Inter City Private Buses and Hoteliers see this as a massive opportunity to rake in big profits by charging 3-4 times the normal rates.
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But then government had a different idea. RTC run free buses in Krishna and Guntur districts. The government also ensured free food through itself and through NGOs like the Rice Millers Association, Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON, Akshayapatra etc. Interestingly, the police department is also supplying food for free at Pushkar ghats.
Several individuals even came forward to supply free food and buttermilk to the pilgrims. Forget the profits with the loot, the normal business of hotels and restaurants was hit due to this. With the efficient management of the RTC buses, there are no takers for City Private Buses unless it is inter-city travel. The government had imposed restrictions on cars, motorcycles and other vehicles till ghats to avoid traffic congestion so the people are utilising the free travel in the buses.
