Soon, 4 AC buses to ply from Patna to Janakpur

PATNA: Travel bugs, pilgrims and residents keen on travelling to picturesque Kathmandu and the religious site of Janakpur in neighbouring Nepal have reasons to rejoice as the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) will soon start running air-conditioned luxury buses from Patna and Bodh Gaya to the two cities in the Himalayan country.

BSRTC’s administrator Sanjay Kumar Agarwal told TOI on Monday that an international agreement between the governments of India and Nepal for running the buses on the Bodh Gaya-Kathmandu and Patna-Janakpur routes is in the final stage. He claimed at least eight buses, four on each route, will start running within a month.

“At present, no international buses operate from Bihar. However, acknowledging the demand from passengers, we have decided to run buses on the Bodh Gaya-Kathmandu and Patna-Janakpur routes. An agreement with the supplier of the buses has already been made and the process of issuing corresponding permits is also underway. We intend to start running the buses within a month,” Agarwal said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Janakpur-Ayodhya bus service on May 8 and said India and Nepal would work towards building the Ramayan circuit between both the countries.

Incidentally, Sitamarhi is also considered an important pilgrimage centre in the Ramayan circuit. Sources claimed that the buses between Patna and Janakpur will also pass through Sitamarhi, providing connectivity in the Ramayan circuit.

The distance between Patna and Janakpur via Sitamarhi road is around 210km, entailing a travel time of around six hours. Similarly, the distance between Bodh Gaya and Kathmandu is around 480km, entailing a travel time of around 14 hours. Sources claimed that the buses on the Bodh Gaya-Kathmandu route will go via Patna.

“The air-conditioned luxury buses will be operated in public-private partnership (PPP) mode, wherein the BSRTC will share the profits and the fare will be monitored by the corporation,” Agarwal said.

According to BSRTC sources, the buses will be of 2015 model or later years and equipped with all modern, passenger-friendly facilities. For instance, they will have reclining seats equipped with comfortable seat belts with armrests on either side. Enough leg space apart, all seats will have rare magazine net, grab handle and bottle holders. The luxury buses will also be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including Wi-Fi, TV, Dolby Digital audio-video DVD player, LCD screens and mobile/ laptop chargers with every seat, among other facilities.