Thousands of devotees throng the annual religious fair which starts on the full moon day of Poush Shukla and ends in full moon day of Magha Shukla. The travellers have complained that the bus operators are charging fares that exceed the current rate.
As per the readjustment of the bus fare rate on February 7 this year by the Department of Transport Management, the fare of 18 km stretch of road from Purano Bus Park to Sankhu is fixed at Rs 23.
Rashmi Lamichane, who visited the religious fair, complained of being charged bus fare six fold more than the existing rate. “When I looked up in the website of the Transport Department the new rate on the 19 km stretch of road is fixed at Rs 23, but on Saturday they charged us Rs 125, the bus with registration plate number Ba 3 Kha 4309 charged us such high amount,” she said.
The Transport Department Spokesperson and Monitoring Department Chief Basanta Adhikari said the complaints on the buses operated by the Association were highest in the valley.
Meanwhile, Association Secretary LP Shrestha admitted taking action against 1o buses charging random fares. “The Association itself has been taking action against buses not providing discounts to students and charging fares exceeding the specified rate,” Shrestha said, adding. “Those who do not comply have been handed over to the traffic police.”
He said that he had come across a bus on Saturday with a placard displaying with ‘reserved’ on display coming from New Baneshwor charging Rs 100.
It is believed that taking a holy dip in the Salinadi, a river, in the Nepali month of Magha will purge one of sins. Many believed that holding the ritual of Swasthani Puja including Madhav Narayan during the religious fair will help in fulfilling their wishes. RSS
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