06-18-2006, 08:46 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Second Indo-Pak bus from J&K on June 20
PTI
New Delhi: <b>UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to flag off the second bus service between India and Pakistan on June 20. </b>The service will run between Poonch and Rawalkot at Chakan-da-Bagh in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Gandhi is expected to see off the first batch of 30 passengers leaving from Poonch and receive the same number of people from across the border on Tuesday, official sources said on Saturday.
The first bus service, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 7 2005.
Apart from the passengers, 15 residents of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), who had crossed over from âfoot pointsâ such as Mendhar and Poonch will go back on the bus, and 30 residents of Poonch will come back.
Initially scheduled to be launched on June 19, the bus service was postponed by a day to tie-up some âloose endsâ from both the sides, sources said.
The preparations on the Indian side of the Line of Control, which included de-mining of the area and construction of immigration-cum-customs office, have been completed.
The complex, coming up at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore on an acre of land, will have two arrival and departure lounges, banking facilities, X-ray room to screen baggage and other amenities for travellers.
The frequency of the bus service is initially planned to be fortnightly, and could be increased to weekly if the demand increases.
Located 45 km from the border town of Poonch, the border post has seen no vehicular traffic since the partition in 1947.
The area witnessed the bloodiest battle of Haji Peer in 1971 during the Indo-Pak war.
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PTI
New Delhi: <b>UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to flag off the second bus service between India and Pakistan on June 20. </b>The service will run between Poonch and Rawalkot at Chakan-da-Bagh in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Gandhi is expected to see off the first batch of 30 passengers leaving from Poonch and receive the same number of people from across the border on Tuesday, official sources said on Saturday.
The first bus service, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 7 2005.
Apart from the passengers, 15 residents of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), who had crossed over from âfoot pointsâ such as Mendhar and Poonch will go back on the bus, and 30 residents of Poonch will come back.
Initially scheduled to be launched on June 19, the bus service was postponed by a day to tie-up some âloose endsâ from both the sides, sources said.
The preparations on the Indian side of the Line of Control, which included de-mining of the area and construction of immigration-cum-customs office, have been completed.
The complex, coming up at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore on an acre of land, will have two arrival and departure lounges, banking facilities, X-ray room to screen baggage and other amenities for travellers.
The frequency of the bus service is initially planned to be fortnightly, and could be increased to weekly if the demand increases.
Located 45 km from the border town of Poonch, the border post has seen no vehicular traffic since the partition in 1947.
The area witnessed the bloodiest battle of Haji Peer in 1971 during the Indo-Pak war.
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