Nearly 450,000 travelers leave Kathmandu Valley in a week as Dashain rush continues

Nearly 450,000 travelers have left Kathmandu Valley in the week since Ghatasthapana as people head home to celebrate Dashain, the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office has said.

Traffic has increased at all entry and exit points of the Valley. With government offices and schools closed since Fulpati, the number of people heading home is expected to rise further. An estimated 1 million people are expected to leave the Valley for Dashain this year.

Government offices will now reopen only on the full moon day of Kartik 9. Crowds are gathering at New Bus Park, Kalanki, Koteshwar, Balaju and Balkhu, and flight tickets are also full.

Large vehicles using the tunnel route have kept morning traffic relatively light on the Naagdhunga–Naubise section. At the Trinagar crossing near Dhangadhi, a long queue of Nepalis returning home from India had formed early this morning.

In Salyan, cutting, dust, mud and falling rocks on the under-construction Rapti Highway have made travel risky. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Kathmandu will see partly cloudy weather today with temperatures around 25 to 27 degrees Celsius, while Pokhara has a 20 percent chance of light rain with thunder.