Kathmandu, September 15 Those planning to travel to their hometown this Dashain via land route better hurry to secure their seats as more than 60 per cent of bus tickets for Dashain have already been booked. Saroj Sitaula, general secretary of the Federation of the Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE), informed that all the transport associations have been flooded with requests for advance booking of bus tickets since the pre-booking of bus tickets started from Tuesday. “As per transport associations, all the available tickets will likely be fully booked within the next few days. Majority of Dashain commuters have already booked their bus tickets in the last four days,” Sitaula said and urged Valley dwellers who are yet to secure their bus tickets to do so as soon as possible. As per the estimation of the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), around two million people are expected to leave Kathmandu Valley this Dashain. The long queues at different ticket stations like Kalanki, New Bus Park, Old Bus Park, Koteshwor and Gaushala, among others, today clearly show that a number of Valley dwellers are yet to make advance booking of bus tickets. Meanwhile, both transporters and DoTM officials have provided assurances that the public will not have to face hassles in getting bus tickets. According to Sitaula, transporters are planning to add additional buses in major routes like Dhankuta and Nepalgunj, among others, where the demand for tickets is high. “Once the transporters run out of available tickets, we will identify the routes that require additional buses and add buses for these routes accordingly,” he said. Similarly, Tok Raj Pandey, spokesperson for DoTM, said that the government would cross-check the availability of bus tickets with transport entrepreneurs and may explore other transport options to facilitate commuters in different routes, if required. “In case there is a shortfall of tickets in real sense, we will facilitate Dashain travellers by bringing Sajha buses and buses of schools and colleges into operation in different routes,” said Pandey. He also said that the department would take stringent action against the transport entrepreneurs if they are found to be hoarding bus tickets and selling them at inflated rates. As per the Department of Transport Management, 14 different inspection teams have been deployed across Kathmandu Valley to assure transparency in bus ticket distribution.