The Department of Transport Management and the Metropolitan Traffic Police estimate that 450,000 people have left over the last two weeks by public and private transport.
As many as 127,000 tickets for public vehicles have already been booked and long-route vehicles are also to be added on from October 5, transport entrepreneurs said. [break]
While around 700 long-route buses are leaving the Valley at present, 500 more are to be added from Saturday. As many as 37,000 private vehicle also left from the capital this week, according to traffic police.
Dharma Rimal, chairperson of the Bagmai chapter of the National Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs, said his organization estimates that more people would be leaving the Valley during Dashain by public transport this year compared to last year.
“The number is likely to increase by 100,000,” claimed Rimal. Last year´s ticket sales show that 1.3 million left for their homes by public transport last year.
Traffic records of people exiting the Valley by private vehicles such as cars and motorcycles are gathered from Nagdhunga, Jagati and Balkhu, according to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD). The government is yet to track the number of people departing by air.
On Ghatasthapana eve, people thronged the major market areas of the capital including New Road, Ason and New Baneshor. The crowds spilled out onto the roads, obstructing vehicular movement, said traffic police.
“The press of vehicles threw the traffic system out of gear on Friday,” said MTPD Spokesperson SP Basant Kumar Pant. The crowds as well as Valley-based public vehicles should thin out significantly within a couple of days, he added.
Food stocks for Dashain
The Prime Minister´s Office (PMO) on Friday called on all offices concerned to make sure that there is no food shortage anywhere in the country during the festival.
Officials of Nepal Food Corporation have reported to PMO Secretary Krishna Hari Banskota that adequate supplies of grain have been supplied to the remote districts of the Far Western Development Region such as Humla, Jumla, Bajhang, Bajura, Jajarkot, Dolpa, Mugu, Kalikot, Darchula and Baitadi.
The capital has seen the inflow of 20,000 metric tons of rice and 4,000 goats for the Dashain festival. Similarly, National Trading Ltd. informs that the 11 fair price outlets in the Valley have seen a total turnover of Rs 37.2 million till today.
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