South Asian News Network

Kathmandu, Oct 13: With the Dashain festival round the corner, the number of people leaving the Kathmandu Valley for homes has increased in recent days. Those engaged in employment and study in the federal capital began returning to their ancestral homes in a huge number to celebrate the Dashain festival. Dashain is the biggest festival of Nepali Hindus. It is also a time for family union and gathering. Various checkpoints in the valley recorded increasing number of people leaving the federal capital. Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, Rabindra Khanal, informed RSS that total 56,809 people left Kathmandu through various checkpoints in the last 24 hours. According to him, 5,510 passengers left from Pharping checkpoint, 27,649 from Nagdhunga checkpoint, 56 from Thankot checkpoint, 513 from Bhimdhunga checkpoint, 972 from Tinpiple checkpoint, 608 from Sankhu checkpoint, 20,615 from Bhaktapur checkpoint and 886 from Bhattedanda checkpoint. In the wake of festival exodus, transport entrepreneurs have faced problems in managing passengers. General secretary of the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs, Deknath Gautam, said it was problematic to manage transport effectively due to road condition. “Various national highways are damaged on the eve of Dashain, so it is difficult to reach the destinations on time and with comfort,” he added. According to him, although advance ticket booking was managed, the obstruction of Prithvi Highway left many vehicles stranded, causing utter inconvenience to the travelers. In this connection the Federation has urged passengers to travel only after purchasing tickets, paying the fixed fare and checking the condition of the vehicles before traveling. -––