Direct buses from Pokhara to New Delhi

Direct bus services from Pokhara to New Delhi and Bhopal have given much relief to Nepali workers in India and Indian tourists visiting Nepal. Travel to these destinations used to be filled with hassles due to lack of direct transportation links.

Two travel agencies, Soft Excursions Tours and Travel of Bhairahawa and New Modern Era Tours and Travels of Pokhara, have joined forces to operate the direct bus services. They said that the services had been well received by Nepalis going to India and Indian tourists.

A bus departs from Pokhara for Delhi and simultaneously another bus leaves Delhi for Pokhara daily. The route goes via Bhairahawa. The bus service to Bhopal operates once weekly.

“People travelling through Sunauli to reach Delhi or Bhopal face lots of difficulties during the whole trip, and these people are our main target group,” said Ramesh Thapa, chairman of Soft Excursions.

Meanwhile, there has been high demand from Indian tourists too. According to Thapa, they were working to upgrade the Bhopal service to a daily. People travel to Delhi through Sunauli, which lies across the border from Bhairahawa, for various purposes like employment, education, health treatment, visiting and business.

To reach Delhi by train, one must travel to Gorakhpur, which is about 100 km from the Nepal border. Tickets are hard to get and must be booked one month in advance. The bus service available from the Indian side of the border is considered to be difficult as well as risky by Nepali passengers. Stories abound of how thieves use sedatives to make passengers unconscious and loot their luggage.  

The bus service was also started in part due to a rising number of requests from Indian tourists and migrant Nepalis, according to Krishna Prasad Gair, proprietor of New Modern Era. Gair added that all the passengers were insured as per international norms and standards. New Modern Era is officially permitted to operate in India too.

Soft Excursions has been providing daily bus services from Kathmandu to Delhi via Bhairahawa in cooperation with Manjushree Sewa, Kathmandu.

source: http://www.ekantipur.com