A long-held tradition of people heading outside the Capital city to their respective villages began with the beginning of Bada Dashain, the most widely celebrated Hindu festival in the country, from Tuesday. The Dashain travel rush is considered to be the largest annual migration in Nepal.

People travelling outside Kathmandu valley thronged to Balaju-based New Buspark area to board their respective buses. With lesser number of passenger bus heading out of the valley during this year’s festive season due to the blockade imposed by India and the unrest in the southern plains that caused acute fuel shortage, people returning to their villages were seen willing to travel on the roof of the buses.

As per an estimate of the Department of Transport Management, as many as 6,000 vehicles streamed out of the Kathmandu Valley daily during the Dashain festival last year. However, only 4,000 vehicles will move out from Kathmandu this time due to the unavailability of petroleum.

According to Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs, around 2.5 million people departed from Kathmandu during the Dashain festival last year. This year, around 2 million people are expected to leave.