Kathmandu, September 19 Almost 80 per cent of bus tickets have been booked for this Dashain within seven days of the advance booking being opened. The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) had opened the advance booking of bus tickets for commuters planning to leave Kathmandu Valley for Dashain from September 12. The bookings have been opened through ticket counters located in Kalanki, New Bus Park, Old Bus Park, Koteshwor, Sundhara and Gaushala. Saroj Sitoula, general secretary FNNTE, informed that most people who will be travelling to their respective hometowns for Dashain have secured their seats. He also said all the transport associations have opened advance booking for Dashain. “Most of the seats of the public vehicles have been booked and the few remaining too will soon be sold as bookings have been taking place on a daily basis. In fact, some people have already started to leave the Valley for Dashain,” Sitoula informed. According to him, most of the people have booked their tickets from New Bus Park. Sitoula further informed that advance booking for short and medium distance routes have also been opened. Initially, FNNTE had opened advance booking for long routes only. The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) and FNNTE have estimated that two to three million people will leave Kathmandu Valley this Dashain. The DoTM is monitoring the booking counters to provide assurance to the public that they would not have to face hassles in getting bus tickets. “We have monitoring teams in various places, and the DoTM still has not received any serious complaints from the public,” said Tej Raj Pandey, spokesperson for DoTM.