Bus to Kathmandu this month
2 min readPatna: The Bihar government will start a bus service from Patna to Kathmandu this month.
The state and the Nepal governments have in principle given nod to the service while other formalities are being chalked out to start it.
Secretary, Bihar transport department, Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, said: “We had sent a proposal to the Nepal government to start a new bus service from Patna to Kathmandu. Agreements have been reached out between both the governments to start the service. However, counter signatures are yet to be done by both the sides. Once this is being done, we will start the service.”
Earlier, the bus service between Patna and Kathmandu was due to start on May 3. However, now it will take a few more days to start.
“We will start the service from this month itself,” Agarwal said, adding: “It will take two to four more days to complete all the formalities.”
Schedules are being chalked out for the bus service as to what will be the frequency of the service to be offered which include on which days the buses are to be run and the timings and the fares.
Sources said the transport department have given permits to 10 buses for the purpose. All the buses will be air-conditioned. As far as tickets availability is concerned, tickets will now be sold from the outlets of Bihar Road Transport Corporation.
The bus will reach Kathmandu traversing Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Motihari and Raxaul covering around 460km and take around 10 hours. The buses would be run on public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
The move to connect Patna to Kathmandu by road aims to strengthen religious tourism as Kathmandu is where the famous Pashupatinath Temple is located.
Every year, thousands of people go to Pashupatinath Temple to offer prayers to Lord Pashupatinath from Patna and other parts of the state. Apart from the Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu offers several other religious and historical places to visit with added attraction of the scenic beauty of the landlocked country.
Abhishek Singh, an entrepreneur who visits Kathmandu every year to offer prayers to Lord Pashupatinath, said: “This is a welcome step by the Bihar government. With the start of the new bus service, travel will now be hassle-free. Earlier, we had to hire vehicles to reach Kathmandu by road. Now it will be easier to go to the neighbouring country.”
Courtesy: The Telegraph
