New Delhi, Dec 15: The Delhi-Kathmandu bus service, which was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has resumed from Wednesday.
The Delhi Transport Corporation(DTC) announced the news of resumption in a notification issued on Monday. As per the transport officials, the Delhi-Kathmandu bus will operate from Ambedkar Bus Terminal at 10 AM on December 15.
Guidelines to Travellers
The DTC, which has tied up with Skyline India (Motors) Pvt Ltd for operation of the bus, said that the travellers should follow it in true spirit in all conditions.
It will be "mandatory" for all the passengers to carry certificate of both doses of Covid vaccine and a negative RT-PCR test report within 72 hours of start of the journey and the passengers, without the certificates, will not be allowed to board the bus.
Distance and Price of The Tickets
The bus service covers a distance of 1,167 Km between Delhi and Kathmandu with stoppages at Firozabad, Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and Mugling (Nepal). Before the lockdown, price of a ticket was Rs 2,300. Now, it has been increased to around Rs 2,800.
It travel duration, on an average, takes 35 to 30 hours.
Bus Time Table
The bus departs from Delhi to Kathmandu on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The return bus from Kathmandu to Delhi leaves on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The bus will also stop at Sonauli (India-Nepal border) for customs checking. Passengers travelling between Delhi and Kathmandu are not allowed to disembark or embark enroute except at the scheduled halts.
The Maitri Bus Sewa or bus service between the capital cities of India and Nepal was launched in November 2014. However, it was halted on March 23, 2020 in view of the first wave of the pandemic.
It was initiated as a symbol of friendship between India and Nepal. The buses have frequently carried pilgrims, tourists, foreign delegates and the general public from both the nations. PTI