Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav flagging off bus service from Varanasi to Kathmandu. (PTI photo).
Nepal and India today launched a direct bus service between Kathmandu and Varanasi, linking the two prominent cities - home to the Pashupatinath and Kashi Vishwanath temples respectively.
The regular Kathmandu-Varanasi-Kathmandu bus service was flagged off from near Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu, and would cover a distance of about 600 km in a journey that would take about 12 hours.
Nepal's Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Bimalendra Nidhi, and Ambassador of India to Nepal, Ranjit Rae, flagged off the service at a function.
The Nepali-registered ceremonial bus will follow the route Kathmandu-Bhairahawa-Sunauli-Azamgarh-Varanasi. The bus service is aimed at enhancing people-to-people contact between the two countries.
It is also expected to have a positive impact on the tourism industry, as both Kathmandu and Varanasi are popular tourist destinations, a statement by the Indian embassy said.
The service is being started under the ambit of Motor Vehicle Agreement between India and Nepal, which was signed between the two countries during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kathmandu for the SAARC Summit in November last year.
Another regular bus service operated by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) from Varanasi to Kathmandu through the same route was flagged-off from Varanasi by the state's Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav yesterday.