KATHMANDU – The number of people leaving Kathmandu for hometown to celebrate Dashain is increasing day by day. Nowadays, New Bus Park, Gongabu, is getting crowded due to the sheer number of people going home for Dashain and buying bus tickets in advance.
With the start of the biggest festival of Nepalese, people who are living in Kathmandu Valley due to various purposes have started returning home to celebrate Dashain with family members and relatives.
Chief of Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, Deputy Inspector General of Police Bharat Bahadur Bohara said total 126,435 people left Kathmandu Valley from September 30 to October 3 morning in vehicles—buses, trucks, and motorcycles.
Similarly, Spokesperson of District Police Range, Kathmandu, Nabaraj Adhikari told RSS that crowd of people returning home has increased at New Bus park after schools have started closing for the holidays with the beginning of Dashain festival.
He further said they have increased number of security personnel at New Bus Park keeping the growing crowd of people there in mind, stating that a help desk has been established in order to make passengers travel smooth.
Likewise, crowd of people returning home and pressure of vehicles has increased at New Bus Park, Kalanki and Koteshwor areas, shared Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office.
Kathmandu is experiencing significant traffic congestion at its entry and exit points due to an influx of passengers and vehicles during the Dashain festival. Driver Ramit Oli, who operates on the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route for Sudurpaschim Travel, said there is a significant rise in the number of people leaving the city for their hometowns as the festival began.
Road conditions have deteriorated due to rain-related disasters, yet vehicles remain packed as demand rises. By Thursday afternoon, a total of 820 motor vehicles, including buses, microbuses, trucks, private cars, and motorcycles, had departed from Kathmandu. According to Superintendent of Police Nawaraj Adhikari from the District Police Range Kathmandu, 13,503 passengers left the city with those vehicles.
As of noon today, 544 vehicles entered Kathmandu, carrying 6,554 passengers. The number of people traveling in reserved and private vehicles, which are not accounted for in police records, is also said to be increasingly high.
Bus counters have already accepted advance ticket bookings until October 9, making it extremely challenging for travelers to secure a ticket. Lalit Magar from Rolpa said he arrived at the New Buspark in Gongabu in the early morning but was struggling to find a bus ticket to go home.
