A severe Hyderabad traffic jam disrupted Dasara travel on October 17, with major bus terminals and highway corridors around the city facing heavy congestion as tens of thousands of people travelled to their native towns and villages, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle.
The Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, Jubilee Bus Station and Dilsukhnagar recorded overwhelming passenger footfall from the early hours. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation deployed additional buses to manage the festive rush, but boarding bays and roads around the terminals remained heavily crowded throughout the day.
The surge in private cars, buses and commercial vehicles also slowed movement on key inter-district and interstate routes. The Hyderabad–Vijayawada Highway, or NH-65, experienced congestion stretching across several kilometres in Nalgonda district. Construction of a new flyover at Chityal added to the pressure on the corridor, where festive traffic further reduced vehicle movement.
Traffic came to a standstill near Choutuppal and Borralagudem, leaving motorists stranded for more than an hour, the report said. Commuters cited the absence of active traffic personnel and highway patrol teams to regulate bottlenecks in the affected areas.
The disruption highlights the pressure placed on Hyderabad’s transport network during predictable seasonal travel peaks. The city’s principal bus terminals serve as departure points for passengers travelling across Telangana and to neighbouring states, while the same road corridors carry private vehicles, public buses and commercial traffic moving away from the metropolitan region.
At the terminals, the additional TGSRTC fleet was intended to absorb the sudden rise in passenger demand. However, the crowding around boarding areas and approach roads showed that increasing bus capacity alone did not prevent congestion at transport interchange points. The report did not provide the number of additional buses deployed or details of a separate traffic-management plan around the terminals.
Traffic was also reported to be moving slowly on the Hyderabad–Hanamkonda Highway. Long queues formed at the Yadadri toll plaza, adding another pressure point on the route used by travellers leaving the city ahead of Dasara.
The conditions on NH-65 demonstrate how construction activity can intensify the effects of a short-term travel surge. The flyover work at Chityal narrowed the corridor’s ability to handle the large volume of vehicles, while stoppages near Choutuppal and Borralagudem prolonged journeys for motorists.
The report did not indicate when congestion on the affected roads or around the bus terminals would ease. It identified the additional TGSRTC services, the ongoing Chityal flyover construction and traffic conditions at the Yadadri toll plaza as the main operational factors shaping the disruption.
