New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will flag-off the Delhi-Kathmandu bus service from capital’s Ambedkar Stadium bus terminal on Tuesday.
The Cabinet has also authorized the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to sign similar Bilateral Agreements and Protocols with other SAARC member states.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved the signing and ratifying the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement at the summit.
A statement issued by the ministry on the occassion mentions:
“The SAARC Transport Ministers, at their second meeting in Colombo on 25 July 2009, approved the recommendations of Inter Governmental Group on Transport (IGGT) to set up an Expert Group to negotiate and finalize the text of the draft Regional Agreement on Motor Vehicles for SAARC Member States. The Expert Group on the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement, in its third meeting held at Neemrana (Rajasthan) on 7-8 September this year, considered and finalized the draft text of the agreement which was endorsed in the Fifth meeting of the SAARC IGGT held on 30th September in New Delhi attended by delegations from all Member States except Maldives. This Agreement provides for the Member States allowing the vehicles of other Member States to ply in their territory for transportation of cargo and passengers subject to various terms and conditions in the Agreement and obtaining permits for such transport from the Member States as per procedure and protocols prescribed in the Agreement. The Agreement once signed will result in closer regional economic cooperation and integration through enhanced regional connectivity by allowing movement of goods and passengers in the region through road transport. ”
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run a luxury Volvo bus on the Delhi-Kathmandu bus route and the tentative one-way fare is likely to be around Rs 2,200.
The bus will complete its journey via Agra, Lucknow and Gorakhpur in 30 hours
The bus service is touted to be a major boost in terms of trade and tourism and will also strengthen the bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.
At present, DTC has been running Delhi-Lahore bus, which was launched by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in March 1999.
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