It was not that the Kathmandu-Lhasa direct deluxe bus service didn't find any passengers willing to make the arduous three day-long journey which takes them through the scenic Tibetan plateau, also considered the roof of the world. In fact many Nepali as well as foreign tourists were said to have bought the bus ticket to Lhasa after knowing that it would resume its operation from January 1, but they couldn't take the trip to Lhasa after the Chinese embassy here refused to grant visas to them without any apparent reasons.
Even though the exchange of road permit between the representatives of Saajha Transport from Nepal and Himalayan Transportation on behalf of China on November last year had revived hopes about the Kathmandu-Lhasa shuttle service which had remained suspended since the year 2006, the Saajha Yatayat was forced to send its bus just with a driver and a helper on board at 9 am Tuesday. Sajha Yatayat officials said they had done this "just to respect the agreement".
Since becoming operational from May 1, 2005 during the royal regime with a view to promote tourism in both the countries, the much-hyped Kathmandu-Lhasa direct deluxe bus service, for which China and Nepal had signed an agreement way back in 1994, has been a victim of Chinese government's draconian visa regime meant to guard entries to Tibet.
Currently two buses, one arriving from
However, the hitch in the Kathmandu-Lhasa bus service is only a minor problem for the floundering state transportation service considering that most its buses have not been running within the country for over a year now after an agitation by employees.
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