By IANS
Kathmandu : India’s budget tourists now have a bigger incentive to visit Nepal with a bus service kicking off from the Indian capital New Delhi to Pokhara city, the second-most popular tourist destination here after capital Kathmandu.
While the number of air-borne Indians to Nepal has fallen by about seven percent, the road service that kicked off Tuesday is expected to boost the figure.
The trial run started with two buses from Pokhara, the object of special promotion with this year being the Visit Pokhara Year.
The schedule would be fixed after observing how the trial fares. It has been planned to run six buses a week though the days are yet to be fixed.
The one-and-a-half day journey from Pokhara to Delhi will cost Nepali Rs.2,000 (Indian Rs.1,250) per passenger one way. The return air fare to Kathmandu from New Delhi is over Rs.10,000 in the tourist season.
Air travellers also have to pay a hefty airport tax.
The 1,310-km bus service is being operated by a private agency, Modern Era Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd. The buses will carry around 30 passengers each.
The initiative comes on the eve of Dashain and Tihar, Nepal’s biggest festivals, also celebrated in India as Dussehra and Deepawali.
It is also the holiday season in India when schools close and families go on vacation.
The bus service marks a breakthrough for the common man after an official agreement between the governments of Nepal and India, signed in 2004 to start direct bus services between the major metros of both countries, has been put on the backburner.
While being an ideal solution for the Indian tourist, who has no direct flight to Pokhara, there’s one little snag: the high incidence of road accidents in Nepal.
Most western governments advise their citizens to avoid road journeys in this country. However, the Indian tourist is undeterred and has been arriving by the busloads in Nepal from cities as far as Chennai and Hyderabad.