Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 3:

The traffic flow from Kathmandu valley has resumed with a significant number of vehicles going out via the Nagdhunga exit point today.

“Around 800 vehicles went out of the valley with the load carrying trucks topping the list,” said Inspector Deepak Neupane of the Thankot Ward Police Station. He said the number of vehicles entering the valley was lower than what went out of the valley. The number of vehicles moving in and out of the valley will increase in a few days after people will know about the tight security provision provided by the forces, he said.

Normally, an average of some 4,000 vehicles leave the valley while the same number of the vehicles enter the valley from the main entry points.

According to him vehicles leading to all parts of the nation are operating.

However, an official of Sajha Yatayat, the state-owned transport body, said no Sajha buses went out of the valley citing the security problem. Sajha Yatayat runs dozens of buses and microbuses at eight different places.

Meanwhile, as the tourist buses from Pokhara to other destinations could not operate their services, hundreds of tourists and other passengers remained stranded here today.

While around 15 to 20 tourist buses to Kathmandu and five to seven to Chitwan used to leave Pokhara in normal days, not even a single bus left for Kathmandu and Chitwan today. Tourists who reached the tourist bus park early in the morning returned to the Pokhara airport after finding that the bus service was disrupted.

The airport was crammed with tourists today in comparison to other days, airport officials said.

According to Samrat Travels, one of operators of Pokhara-Kathmandu tourist bus service, it could not send the buses to Kathmandu even though the passengers had already booked. Jyoti Kattel of the travels said efforts will be made to send the buses to Kathmandu tomorrow.

Tourists were stranded at the airport as the limited flights of different airlines could not cope with the demand, Sanu Bhai Shrestha, another tourism operator, said. In addition to the RNAC, Buddha Air, Cosmic Air, Yeti Air, Gorkha Air operate regular flights to and from Pokhara.

Richard Jefferson, a Swedish national, who was planning to go to Kathmandu for visa extension, said, “I could not go to Kathmandu as buses are not operating and I found no air ticket.”

Meanwhile, Prithvi highway bus operators’ committee, which used to operate 17 to 18 buses daily, sent only 4 buses to Kathmandu today, after its buses were sent back to Pokhara from Nagdhunga of Kathmandu yesterday. Only one bus each for Birgunj and Sunauli left Pokhara.