Hyderabad, Oct 5 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has slammed the Congress government for the hike in bus fares in Hyderabad.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao said on Sunday that the decision to hike city bus charges by Rs 10 at once is reprehensible.

He took to 'X' to react to the decision of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) to hike the bus fares.

KTR, as the BRS leader is popularly known, accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of emptying the pockets of poor middle-class passengers in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

The BRS leader said that at a time when people are struggling with rising prices of essential commodities, an additional burden of 500 rupees per month is imposed on every passenger. He said the Chief Minister should explain how the poor will survive.

"As if increasing student bus charges and T-24 ticket charges weren't enough already, now raising ticket prices by 50 per cent without any mercy is a testament to Revanth's incompetent policies," he said.

"It seems the Chief Minister, who is trying to squeeze the people of Hyderabad by imposing nearly a crore rupees burden every day, has a grudge against the residents of the state capital," he said.

Instead of strengthening the RTC, which went bankrupt due to free bus travel for women, the attempt to squeeze the common passenger is unforgivable, he added.

The TGSRTC announced that it will hike fares of all city bus services operating in Hyderabad and Secunderabad from Monday.

As per the new fare structure announced by the TGSRTC, passengers travelling by City Ordinary, Metro Express, E-Ordinary and E-Express services will pay an additional Rs 5 for the first three stages and Rs 10 from the fourth stage onwards. For Metro Deluxe and E-Metro AC services, the additional charge will be Rs 5 for the first stage and Rs 10 from the second stage onwards.

The move is aimed at funding the expansion of electric bus infrastructure in the city.

The TGSRTC plans to induct 2,800 electric buses by 2027, replacing diesel buses within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits.

/IANS