Bus service between India, Nepal resumes after 27 yrs

Banbasa, January 4

A friendship bus service between India and Nepal via Champawat resumed today after a gap of 27 years, much to the delight of people on both sides of the border who have family and trade ties with each other.

The bus which runs between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to the Banbasa border in Champawat district and Anand Vihar, Delhi, has been regularised from today. Earlier, it was run on a trial basis for a week, in charge of the Sharda barrage international police station BM Upreti said.

The service was suspended 27 years ago. The resumption of the service between the two countries after its prolonged suspension had been welcomed by people as nearly 10,000 Nepalese travel in these buses on a daily basis from Kanchanpur district, Dandel Dhura, Voti, Sapen, Acham, Kalali, Jagbuddha and Siddhartha Nagar areas in Nepal, he added.

The income from the area’s Tanakpur depot is also considered one of the major sources of income for the Uttarakhand Parivahan Nigam, the official said.

These air conditioned buses with Indian and Nepalese flags painted on their bodies will enter the Nepalese district of Kanchanpur at 6 am everyday and start for Delhi from there at 6 pm every evening, Upreti said.

No special documents are required to travel in these buses, which provides free Wi-Fi facility and a bottle of mineral water to passengers. — PTI