KATHMANDU, Oct 3: Transport entrepreneurs have reopened ticket booking for Dashain festival on Monday after the government decided to operate the government-owned  and school buses during the festive season.

An emergency meeting of Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) decided to reopen the ticket booking.

“Transport entrepreneurs are directed to bring the buses operating in local routes to Kathmandu to carry passengers to their home districts for Dashain festival,” reads the statement issued by FNNTE.

The FNNTE further directed transport entrepreneurs to sell tickets at the government declared rates following complaints from passengers of overcharging.

Although Dashain has already begun, transport entrepreneurs have not brought enough vehicles into operation and this has resulted in rampant blackmarketing in tickets. As many people who wish to go outside the Valley find that they have been left in the lurch, the authorities have felt compelled to decide on the use of government-owned vehicles to ease the ongoing transportation crunch, according to an official at the Department of Transport Management.

Last year, many people couldn't leave the capital for their home districts due to a lack of transportation caused by the Indian fuel blockade. Many of them are travelling to their villages this year, contributing to a significant increase in the demand for tickets. Swar estimates that some two million people will leave the Valley during Dashain.

 
• dashain
 
• ticket booking