A recent meeting between the Department of Transport Management and transport entrepreneurs to fix the fare and opening date for advance bus ticket booking ended inconclusively as the former asked the construction works in the Narayangadh-Mugling road section be halted for smooth vehicular movement.

Due to expansion works being carried out in the road section, vehicles entering and leaving Kathmandu Valley are required to take turns because only one-way traffic is allowed at certain times.

“Without a guarantee of two-way traffic flow on this road section, transport entrepreneurs cannot open advance booking because it would be difficult to calculate the travel time for the vehicles,” said Punya Prasad Sitaula, general secretary of Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Association (FNNTEA), the umbrella body of transport entrepreneurs across the country.

DoTM, on the other hand, is hesitant to comply with the request of transport entrepreneurs saying the government would have to compensate the contractor of the project for the delay.

DoTM officials informed that they are now seeking permission from the Ministry of Physical and Transport to halt the construction works in the Narayangadh-Mugling road section. A meeting to settle the matter will soon be held among ministry officials, contractor of the road section, traffic police and DoTM, a source