Bus going empty to Pakistan

The number of passengers leaving for Pakistan has reached a dismal figure in the past one week after an advisory was issued to avoid visiting the neighbouring country.


"Only seven passengers, including just one Indian, boarded the 37-seater imported AC coach on December 30, 2008, and on January 2, 2009. This is the lowest figure ever recorded in the past few years. However, the figures of inbound passengers from Pakistan remain unaffected," said RK Kasana, public relationship officer, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

"This is a matter of grave concern. We hope that the situation gets back on the track soon," Kasana said.

"The bus service can also be discontinued," said a DTC official, citing an example of the termination of the service after the Parliament attack on December 13, 2001.

"This situation is likely to continue till the relationship between the two countries improves," said Kasana. "The prevailing situation is also incurring financial losses to the company," said the DTC official.

The six-day-a-week bus service between the two cities was started on March 16, 1999, a month after the Sadbhavana Yatra of the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to Pakistan. Christened Sadbhavana Express by DTC and Sada-e- Sarhad by Pakistan Tourism, the service had been halted whenever there were tension.

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