PM Narendra Modi flags-off Kathmandu-Delhi bus service

New Delhi/Kathmandu: In an initiative which will deepen the relations between India and Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala on Tuesday flagged-off the Kathmandu-Delhi bus service called Pashupatinath Express from here.

"I wish you all the best, this is a very good beginning," PM Modi told passengers aboard Kathmandu-Delhi bus.


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Before flagging off the bus, both the PMs hopped into the bus and interacted with the passengers of the bus, which was decorated with streamers, balloons and flowers.

The bus service is touted to be a major boost in terms of trade and tourism and will also strengthen the bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.

The route, the bus service will follow would be from Kathmandu, Bhairawa, Sanauli, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and New Delhi.

PM Modi arrived in Kathmandu today to attend the 18th Saarc Summit to be held Nov 26-27.

From Indian side, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today flagged-off the Delhi-Kathmandu bus service from New Delhi and said the government was planning to start similar services to every neighbouring country soon.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run the luxury Volvo bus on the Delhi-Kathmandu bus route. The one-way fare of the bus will be Rs 2,300 per person.

The bus will complete its journey via Agra, Lucknow and Gorakhpur in 30 hours and cover the distance of 1,250 km.

DTC had received a proposal from the PMO for beginning the trans-national service corresponding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Nepal for the SAARC summit on November 26-27.

The bus service is touted to be a major boost in terms of trade and tourism and will also strengthen the bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.

At present, DTC has been running Delhi-Lahore bus, which was launched by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in March 1999.

As part of its inaugural run on February 19, 1999, Vajpayee went to attend a summit in Lahore in DTC's Delhi-Lahore bus service where he was received by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Wagah.

On November 1, the corporation had increased the fare of Delhi-Lahore bus service from Rs 1500 to 2400.

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