Peace bus suffers slowdown

85% fall in passenger traffic as Karavane Aman completes 4 yrs

http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11856&Itemid=55

The enthusiasm among the divided families living across the Line of Control for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Bus Service (Karvane Aman) which completes four years on Tuesday is dying and the participation has decreased enormously.

According to Passport Officer Srinagar, B S Manavalan, around 11000 passengers travelled to the other side in Karvane Aman since 7 April 2005. However, presently there is a complete lull in participation in comparison of the last years.

“These days there is a complete lull. The participation has gone down to 20 to 22 passengers per trip from 100 to 120 passengers. On an average at least 60 to 70 people travelled in the bus but now due to the known problems, the enthusiasm has gone down,” Manavalan told Rising Kashmir.

Interestingly, in a trip last month no passenger went from this side of LoC to Muzaffarabad although 24 passengers came from the other side.

The hyped Karvane Aman was started during the PDP-Congress coalition government in 2005 and was seen as one of the biggest Confidence Building Measures between India and Pakistan. However, it has failed to capture the minds of people for long.

Manavalan stressed there were not many clearances from the other Kashmir and also acknowledged the extremely low participation from this side.

“There are problems which have resulted in the low participation of the people but let us not discuss those. The fact is that participation is very low,” said Manavalan.

Muzaffarbad is 170 km north of Srinagar and the bus service, which now runs on weekly basis was flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 7 April 2005.

No passport or visa is required for travel between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. People having their relatives on the other side of LoC can travel without a passport after getting a permit from the authorities after verification of their identities.

Then foreign secretary of India Shyam Saran stressed that the arrangement was "without prejudice to the position of either side on Kashmir”.

The service runs on weekly basis on Saturdays while a similar service connecting Poonch-Rawalkote route runs on Mondays. The cross-LoC bus service from Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch was started in 2006. Earlier, the services were fortnightly but now run on weekly basis.