Kathmandu-Varanasi-Kathmandu bus service flagged off

Nepal and India on 5 March 2015 launched a direct bus service linking cultural cities Kathmandu and Varanasi.
Kathmandu-Varanasi-Kathmandu bus service was launched under the ambit of Motor Vehicle Agreement between India and Nepal signed during 18th SAARC Summit.
Key facts

• Kathmandu-Varanasi-Kathmandu bus service seeks to promote religious tourism and people-to-people contact between both countries by connecting the two religious cities.
• This bus service will connect Kathmandu’s Pashupatinath Temple with Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple as both shrines are considered important pilgrimage sites by Shiva worshippers all around the world
• Route of bus service- It will take the Bhairahawa-Gorakhpur route and cover about 600 km distance in 12 hours.

This is the second direct bus service between Nepal and India after the one linking Kathmandu and New Delhi.
Earlier in November 2014 during the 18th SAARC Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala had jointly launched the direct bus service between Kathmandu and the New Delhi.
Nepal and India are also planning to establish a direct bus service to link Kathmandu and Patna in future.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2015