Hyderabad's roads became crowded Friday evening ahead of the Sankranti festival rush. A large number of buses, private cars, and cabs left the city, causing heavy traffic. The weekend and festival holidays starting Saturday doubled the load on roads. Traffic police reported severe jams on main routes including the corridor from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) to Dilsukhnagar towards Vijayawada, around Secunderabad and Kacheguda railway stations, the SR Nagar–Lakdikapul stretch, Mehdipatnam towards Attapur via Aramghar, and bus terminals at Ameerpet and JBS Parade Ground. Officials deployed more personnel across the city to manage the situation. Commuters on regular routes like Gachibowli to Hyderabad faced delays up to 20 minutes. In Cyberabad’s IT corridor, traffic increased significantly, especially in Kukatpally, Moosapet, JNTU, Miyapur, and RC Puram route. Key congestion points included Miyapur X Roads, Patancheru Outer Ring Road Exit 3, and Medchal, worsened by highway construction. Authorities held talks with bus operators to limit stops to designated points for smooth traffic flow. Private operators were told to move pick-up points to less crowded areas, for example, shifting from Miyapur X Roads to the Miyapur metro bus stop. Buses were ordered to park in single lines, not side by side. Special focus was on buses leaving Kukatpally, Miyapur, Gachibowli, and crowds at Lingampally railway station. More staff was deployed on Balanagar–RC Puram stretch used by many outbound buses. Traffic peaked from 7.30 p.m. and is expected to stay heavy until after midnight. Some buses were rerouted to use Outer Ring Road exits to avoid inner city jams.