Hyderabad traffic slowed to a crawl on major highways leading out of the city on Saturday as the Dasara travel rush peaked, with long queues at toll plazas and ongoing road works adding to delays on several routes. Officials expect the heavy movement of vehicles to continue on Sunday as residents travel to their native districts for the festival.
The Hyderabad–Vijayawada, Hyderabad–Warangal, Hyderabad–Karimnagar and Hyderabad–Kurnool highways were among the routes reporting heavy traffic. The rush began in the morning as people left Hyderabad for celebrations, leading to sustained congestion on roads connecting the city with districts across Telangana and neighbouring destinations.
At the Patangi toll plaza near Choutuppal on the Hyderabad–Vijayawada highway, cars and other vehicles were reported to be waiting in long queues. The congestion was worsened by the slow progress of flyover and service road works at Choutuppal, where construction activity has affected the movement of vehicles along the route.
A similar situation was reported at the Raikal toll plaza on the Hyderabad–Kurnool highway, where vehicles were caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Road works at Balanagar also affected traffic heading towards Jadcherla and destinations beyond Hyderabad, with the slow pace of the works contributing to delays on the corridor.
The National Highways Authority of India and toll operators made efforts to manage the increased vehicle flow, but the combination of weekend travel and the festive rush placed additional pressure on highway infrastructure and toll-processing points. The reported congestion highlights how temporary peaks in demand can quickly expose capacity constraints at entry and exit corridors around a major city.
The traffic surge was not limited to private vehicles. The Jubilee Bus Station and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in Hyderabad also witnessed a heavy passenger rush, with women and children among those boarding buses in large numbers to reach their respective destinations for the festival.
Officials expect the rush to continue on Sunday. Highway traffic management and toll operations will therefore remain important as outbound travel continues, particularly on the Hyderabad–Vijayawada, Hyderabad–Warangal, Hyderabad–Karimnagar and Hyderabad–Kurnool routes.
