New Delhi: Travelling to Pakistan by road has now got costlier with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which operates the Delhi-Lahore bus service, increasing the fare by a steep 60 per cent after a gap of almost seven years.
Now, one has to shell out Rs 2400 for a one way ticket from Delhi to Lahore as per the revised fare which came into effect from November 1. The last time the fare was increased was in February 2008 when the ticket cost was set at Rs 1500. Corporation's spokesperson RS Minhas has also confirmed the hike in fare.
"DTC has increased the fare from Rs 1500 to Rs 2400 for its Delhi-Lahore bus service," Minhas said. This is the steepest increase in the fare of DTC's Lahore bus service since March 16, 1999, when its fare was just Rs 800.
According to a DTC official, the fare of Delhi-Lahore bus service was increased from Rs 800 to 1250 on February 17, 2004. The service was launched by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in March 1999.
As part of its inaugural run on February 19, 1999, Vajpayee went to attend a summit in Lahore in DTC's Delhi-Lahore bus service where he was received by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Wagah. "Delhi-Lahore bus leaves for Pakistan at 6 AM every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Ambedkar Stadium Bus Terminal while PTDC (Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation) bus leaves for Pakistan at 6 AM every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from the same bus terminal," official also said.
The DTC official said that Delhi-Lahore bus service was not halted even after the Kargil War, but it had to be halted in the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, which led to a serious confrontation between the two neighbours. However, Delhi-Lahore bus service was resumed in July, 2003 when bilateral relations between India and Pakistan improved.
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