SAARC summit coincides flagging off of Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi bus service

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala today flagged off the Kathmandu-Delhi-Kathmandu bus service from Swaymbhu Terminal in Kathmandu. The inauguration took place simultaneously with union minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari flagging off the service simultaneously from New Delhi.

''This has been an outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to make relations with Nepal much stronger and his willingness to contribute to the progress of Nepal'', union minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari said while flagging off the Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi bus service from Ambedkar Stadium bus terminal in New Delhi today.

The New Delhi-Lucknow-Gorakhpur-Sunauli-Bhairahawa-Kathmandu bus service will run at least one bus on a daily basis. The service is being operated by Delhi Transport Corporation. The regular bus on this route will leave Delhi at 10 AM and reach Kathmandu at 4 PM next day with four halts en route at Ferozabad, Faizabad, Sunauli (Border) and Mugling in Nepal. This bus service will cover the distance of 1,250 km between two cities in about 30 hours. The bus can be contacted through telephone No 009711008279.

Gadkari highlighted his ministry's initiatives towards reducing the level of pollution caused by road traffic. He said that the ministry of road transport and highways has been considering to convert old diesel buses into electric buses. He added that e-rickshaws have now been modified and soon they would ply on the roads in Delhi. One of the major concerns of his ministry is to end the problem of traffic jam in Delhi, he further added.

The cabinet has approved the signing of a bilateral agreement for the regulation of passenger traffic between India and Nepal on the sidelines of the forthcoming SAARC Summit in Kathmandu on 26-27 November.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also inaugurated and handed over the National Trauma Center in Kathmandu.

He said the Trauma Center would save lives in distress, and was therefore a symbol of abiding hope and friendship between the two countries. He said India would always stand by Nepal for upgradation of the trauma center, as required.

The prime minister complimented t his Nepalese counterpart and the political parties and officers of Nepal for removing obstacles and speeding up work which had been held up for the last 25 to 30 years. He said he feel satisfied, because a happy Nepal gives India a reason to smile.

He said work on hydropower projects and transmission line was now moving forward. He also mentioned the one billion dollar line of credit, and the Kathmandu Delhi bus service. He said he had asked his officers to explore the possibility of the buses being wi-fi enabled.

He said India had reduced the rate for phone calls by 35 per cent, and urged Nepal to also move in this direction. He said a mobile soil testing laboratory would be gifted to Nepal. He said it would now be possible to bring 500 and 1,000 Indian rupee notes up to an amount of Rs25,000 into Nepal.

He highlighted people to people contact and youth exchange programmes, saying the first batch of 450 university students from Nepal was currently in Kolkata. He said he had received many good suggestions on how to establish the e-library he had mentioned during his earlier visit. India would take care of Nepal`s highways (by fixing connecting roads) as well as i-ways, he said.