The vans brought for tourists are being used as a convenience by the department heads of the fund.
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Five electric buses brought to Lumbini with the aim of reducing pollution and providing convenience to tourists visiting the birthplace of Buddha have been stranded for a long time. Two weeks ago, according to a secretary-level decision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the buses were to be taken to Kathmandu. The buses were stopped after the Prime Minister's Office expressed interest in the decision on Monday.
Two weeks ago, the ministry had made a secretary-level decision and started the process of sending the buses under the Lumbini Development Fund to the Civil Aviation Authority. However, on Monday, an official from the Prime Minister's Office called and asked to make arrangements to operate the buses in Lumbini, said Deepak Shrestha, member secretary of the fund.
Earlier, after receiving information that the buses and vans were being sent to Kathmandu, youths Arjun Kurmi and Shakil Ahmed Khan of Lumbini Cultural Municipality had submitted a memorandum to the member secretary of the fund on Monday, asking Shrestha not to implement the decision. They have urged the buses and vans to be operated in Lumbini. The electric buses imported for Lumbini were initially taken to Kathmandu from the Bhairahawa Customs Office. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli launched the operation of electric buses.
In November 2077, 14 state-of-the-art taxis (vans) and 5 buses were brought to Lumbini under the Clean Energy Project with the grant assistance of the Asian Development Bank. Although the buses and taxis worth 130 million rupees arrived here, these vehicles were stranded due to disagreements over the modality of operation. The government had paid 35 million rupees in customs duty.
Due to the negligence and neglect of the Lumbini Development Fund, the taxis (vans) and buses were stranded in the heat. The officials and employees of the Fund are riding in the taxis (vans) brought for tourists. The department heads of the Fund are using these vehicles as a facility. Member Secretary Shrestha said that the decision to send the buses to Kathmandu was made due to the damage to the Civil Aviation Authority vehicles during the Gen-G movement.
Currently, these buses are parked at the charging station in front of Gate No. 2 of the Lumbini Development Fund. The fund claims that the buses are being sent to Kathmandu as per the ministry's decision as the fund cannot operate them on its own and there is a risk of damage if they are parked in Lumbini.
16 months after entering Lumbini, the buses and vans received government number plates. The name was transferred to the Ministry of Tourism. However, they were not used for tourists, saying that government plates cannot be rented. After four law students from Lumbini Buddhist University City Campus Butwal filed a writ petition in the Tulsipur High Court, Butwal, the number plates of the buses and vans were made green for tourists to board.
Lumbini Hotel Association President Leelamani Poudel said that the fund's employees are avoiding operating buses and vans, sometimes with excuses. He said that it is sad that the buses are now in a state of breakdown and cannot be operated.
As there was no provision to change the government vehicles with white number plates to green or any other plates, it could not be operated for tourists. However, even after the change to green number plates, the problem continued to increase as the fund delayed operating them. 'The fund cannot operate buses and vehicles itself,' said Gyanin Rai, senior director of the fund. 'There are legal complications in allowing the private sector to operate them.' He said that the problem is that although the fares of petrol vehicles are fixed in Nepal, the fares of electric vehicles have not been fixed.
Most of the buses that came for tourists have broken down and are stuck. The main doors and large windows of the buses have been broken. They are crushed and dented in places. The batteries have stopped working. Two vans are in an accident and cannot be driven. The front windows of the vans are broken. The bodies of some are crushed. The tires are damaged.
Most of the vehicles have reached a standstill. Some officials and employees of the trust have misused the vehicles with green number plates that carry tourists to travel with family members and relatives. To connect the world with Lumbini, buses and vans were brought to transport tourists and pilgrims from Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa to Lumbini.
Buses were sent to connect Lumbini with various Buddhist sites such as Tilaurakot, Ramgram and Devdaha and to make it easier for people to travel there. The buses and taxis are state-of-the-art. The large bus has 19 seats. The small van is 5-seater. The fully air-conditioned buses are disability-friendly. A state-of-the-art charging station has also been built in front of Gate No. 2 with the help of ADB.
