Kathmandu. Tourist bus operation has been hampered due to road blockage at Krishnabhir.

The Prithvi Highway has been closed since August 29 due to the erosion of the lower part due to the flooding in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa. Tourist buses going to tourist destinations like Pokhara, Sauraha of Chitwan, Lumbini and other areas have been stranded in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini for the past 14 days.

Bhishma Prasad Neupane, president of the Tourist Bus Association of Nepal (TWAN), said that the movement of tourist buses has been affected due to the obstruction of the Prithvi Highway due to the landslide in Krishna Bhir. “Tourist buses have not been able to operate due to the obstruction of the main highway leading to the capital.

Although small tourist buses have been operated sporadically via Chitwan-Hetauda-Pharping, big vehicles have been stopped for a long time, causing problems to tourist entrepreneurs and workers. “Tourist buses are big, they are not able to operate on small routes, so we have not been able to operate,” he said. The traffic of air passengers has increased at a time when the movement of public vehicles including tourist buses has been affected due to the obstruction of the highway. After the road blockade at Krishnabhir, an alternative route from Chitwan to Kathmandu via Makwanpur can be used. However, due to the uncomfortable condition of the road during the rainy season, passengers prefer air travel.

Due to the closure of the Prithvi Highway, the number of air passengers from Bharatpur Airport in Chitwan and Pokhara Airport in Kaski has increased. Yeti Airlines, which has been operating six flights daily from Kathmandu to Pokhara, has increased the number of flights daily due to the obstruction of the Prithvi Highway.

Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines, said that most of the passengers preferred air travel as the road was blocked due to the landslide at Krishnabhir. “The number of passengers going from Kathmandu to Pokhara by air has increased by 50 percent in the days after the Bhotekoshi floods,” said Bartaula.

Yeti Airlines used to operate six flights daily to Pokhara before the floods, but after that, it has increased the number of flights to 10 daily. According to the airlines, the airfare has increased by 40 percent after the floods. The number of passengers coming to Kathmandu from Bharatpur of Chitwan and going to Bharatpur from Kathmandu by air has also increased. Buddha Air has been operating flights from Bharatpur to Kathmandu.

According to Bhakta Bahadur Basnet, chief of Buddha Air’s Bharatpur office, the number of flights has been doubled due to the difficult condition of the road. Currently, 9 to 11 flights are being operated daily from Kathmandu to Bharatpur. Passengers from Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Gorkha, Tanahun, Lamjung and Makwanpur have also come to Bharatpur. The work of opening a new track on the flood-damaged Krishnabhir road section is going on at a rapid pace. Assistant Resident Engineer of Malekhu-Muglin road section Ashok Devkota said that the digging of new tracks is going on day and night.

“We have been working day and night to open a new road, and we are preparing to bring the new road into operation soon,” he said. Passengers have to use the alternative route of Dakshinkali via Chitwan and Hetauda due to the non-opening of the highway. Due to the lack of regular route operation, the passengers have to face the risk of long journeys, increased fares and alternative routes.