BIRATNAGAR: No sooner had the private airline companies slashed airfare from Biratnagar to Kathmandu by almost 66 per cent recently, transportation entrepreneurs here too followed suit, albeit by less amount.

Such competition has been resulted after the number of passengers bound to Kathmandu has dwindled considerably ahead of the Dashain festival. But the number of passengers returning from capital has been ever increasing with almost all tickets of airline and bus companies already booked for the Dashain period.

The fare wars have, however, benefited the passengers bound to the capital a good deal. The airline companies have now fixed the airfare at Rs 1,500 per passenger to Kathmandu effective for two weeks beginning September 14. The private airliners had been charging Rs 4,700 per individual in Biratnagar-Kathmandu route earlier.

The bus entrepreneurs, fearing drastic reduce of the passengers following the situation, have also been forced to decrease the bus fare.

Binod Regmi, central member of Nepal Transport Workers Association said, "We've reduced the bus fare up till September 27. As numbers of passengers leaving for Kathmandu from Biratnagar has gone down, we started sending them in reduced fare."

According to him, they are charging Rs 510 per person in night coach which was Rs 690 until recently. "But this too has not increased the number of passengers though."

"The number of passengers flying to Kathmandu from Biratnagar has increased after the fare was slashed," said Prem Kunwar, station manger of Buddha Air.

Yeti Airlines has been operating seven flights in this route while Buddha Air has five flights daily. Similarly, Agni Air and Guna Air have three and two flights to Kathmandu, respectively.

Three day and 13 night coaches are operational along the Biratnagar-Kathmandu route.