more-inReversing his eight-wheel truck into the barge on the banks of the river Krishna, K. Srinivas applies enough torque to jolt the flat boat from the sandbar into the water. With a dozen two-wheelers, a share auto and the truck apart from 30-odd people on board, the barge, locally known as ballakattu, starts its 15-minute journey from Mattapally in Telangana to Tangedu in Andhra Pradesh. However, much of the demand and space is commanded by vehicles that take the waterway to avoid a 50-km round journey. Motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, cars and tippers are charged in the range of ₹100 to ₹800 for a round trip, based on the load. Barge supervisor T. Krishna Reddy makes ₹15,000 from 30 trips each day, putting all ‘cuts’ aside.

Source: The Hindu April 23, 2018 18:30 UTC