INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, September 29
Within a few days of opening pre-booking service of bus tickets for the upcoming festive season, most of the ticket
counters in Kathmandu have sold almost all the tickets.
Until late evening today, around 65,000 passengers have booked the bus tickets to
travel back to their hometown for Dashain from New Bus Park in Balaju
Pre-booking of the tickets was opened from September 22
People were given the facility to book the tickets from ticket counters in Kalanki, Balkhu, New Bus Park, Old Bus Park, Koteshwor, Tilganga,
Chabahil, Swoyambhu, Sundhara, Nagdhunga, Jagati and Lagankhel
It is estimated that additional 65,000 people booked their tickets from other bus places in Kathmandu.
When THT visited the counters at
Sundhara, Old Bus Park, New Bus Park and Chabahil today staffers at majority of the counters said almost all the tickets had been sold out
and a few remaining last seats would also be booked by today.
THT also met some people who had to return empty hand after they did not get
tickets of passenger buses bound for western districts like Gulmi, Aarghakhachi and some other far-western hilly districts.
Santosh Deuba of
Aacham, who went to New Bus Park to get bus ticket for Dhangadi said, &I have been frequenting several ticket counters here from the morning
to get a bus ticket, but to no avail.&
Other people from Gulmi, Palpa and Arghakhachi districts also shared similar stories after they had
to return empty handed from the ticket counters.
While an estimated 130,000 people have booked tickets for October 1 to October 5,
Metropolitan Traffic Police Division said, as many as115,000 people had left Kathmandu valley through Thankot check-point from 6:00 am
yesterday to 6:00am today
Above 60 per cent of them left the valley using public vehicles, according to MTPD
It is estimated that every year over two million to 2.5 million people left Kathmandu during Dashain festival.
Bandhu Bastola, director at
Department of Transport Management, claimed there would be no shortage of buses this year as they were planning to add 400 additional buses
on different routes from October 1 to October 15.
The post Bus tickets for Dashain sold out appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
