Countdown to the country’s biggest festival—Dashain—has begun, but the government and transport entrepreneurs are still not sure when to open advance bus ticket bookings.

The festival begins with Ghatasthapana on October 13. Hundreds of thousands of people living in Kathmandu rush back to their homes for the celebrations.

The Department of Transport Management had planned to open the bookings in the first week of October. The department said it had prepared an action plan to efficiently handle the mass departure and the plan was approved by the Ministry of Transport. But they abandoned the plan due to strikes in the Tarai region and fuel shortages for the past week.

Normally, but ticket bookings for Dashain starts some 15-20 days ahead of the festival. “Opening the bookings is not an issue at all. The problem is the fuel shortage,” said Basanta Adhikari, spokesperson for the department.

He said opening the advance bookings during the fuel crisis would encourage middlemen to take undue advantage of the situation. “It will create more problems if the people buy tickets and the transportation system is crippled to the fuel crisis,” Adhikari said. Dolnath Khanal, senior vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs, said despite several rounds of meetings with the government, they could not come up with the exact date to open the bookings. He said the date would be announced as soon as the petroleum crisis ends.

It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people leave the Kathmandu valley for Dashain celebrations.  According to transport entrepreneurs more than 50 percent of the people living in the Capital leave to their homes. Since airfare is expensive,

a majority of the people have no other options but to use surface transportation.

Khanal said the transporters have introduced new vehicles, replacing old ones and added more vehicles to offer better travel experience to the passengers. “A significant number of new vehicles are set to enter the market this Dashain. But due to the strikes they are stuck either in the garages or at border points,” he said. Last year, 3,500 buses transported people from the Capital. This year, the number has increased by 15-20 percent.