Delhi–Kathmandu bus stuck in Nepal, DTC suspends cross-border service

The Volvo was stranded in Kathmandu amid anti-govt protests. Its crew is safe, refunds are being issued, and the service will resume once the situation stabilises.

A Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Volvo bus operating on the Delhi–Kathmandu route has been stranded in Nepal due to the ongoing anti-government protests, Delhi transport minister Pankaj Singh said on Friday.

(Representative image) The 1,167-km service, launched in 2014, has been suspended only once before—during the Covid pandemic. Refunds will be given for upcoming bookings, DTC said. (HT Archive)

He added that the Delhi–Nepal maitri bus service has been suspended temporarily, and the Delhi government is in touch with the Indian embassy to ensure the safe return of the vehicle and staff. “Two buses from our side and two from Nepal used to operate under this service. One of the buses is currently stuck there due to the prevailing situation. For now, we have suspended the route. The bus is safe and parked at a secure location. There are no passengers on it. As soon as the situation normalises, we will resume its service,” Singh said.

According to DTC officials, the bus involved is DL-1PD-6437, which left Delhi on September 8 with 14 passengers and reached Kathmandu at 1.30am on September 10. It was scheduled to leave Kathmandu later that morning at 10am. For the return trip, four passengers had booked seats, and five more were expected to board in Kathmandu. “No damage to the bus has been reported so far. The bus has been parked safely in Kathmandu. Two drivers of our concessionaire M/s Chauhan Logistics and one conductor of DTC are deployed on the bus,” a DTC official said.

Officials added that the bus will be brought back without passengers, and refunds will be issued to those who booked tickets in the coming days. The Nepal army has imposed a curfew, with relaxation windows between 7am and 11am and 5pm and 7pm, but road transport has not resumed, delaying the bus’s return.

“The passengers deboarded safely. We don’t know their status after that. The two drivers and a conductor are safe, waiting to return to India with the bus,” said a DTC official.

The Delhi–Kathmandu bus service was launched in November 2014 and has only once been suspended earlier, for 18 months during the Covid pandemic. Operated from Dr Ambedkar Stadium Bus Terminal near Delhi Gate, the 1,167-kilometre route takes about 26 hours, with halts at Firozabad and Faizabad (Uttar Pradesh), Mugling (Nepal), and Sonauli for customs checks at the India–Nepal border. Tickets are priced at ₹2,800 for anyone over five years of age. The service runs six days a week, with DTC buses operating on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Nepal’s Manjushree Yatayat running on the other three days.

Nepal has been witnessing student-led “Gen Z” protests since last week, initially sparked by a government ban on social media. The agitation soon widened into a broader anti-government campaign over alleged corruption and governance failures. Ousted Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday, though the social media ban was lifted late Monday night.