Baglung Municipality has finally opened the bus park for operation, 23 years after acquiring land from the residents.

The bus park, located at Davgara in ward 4 of Baglung Municipality, came into operation following a recent agreement with local businesses. The municipality signed an agreement with entrepreneurs, charging them Rs 1.1 million (excluding value-added tax) for operation for the current fiscal year. A bus park located at Chipleti in ward number 3 was operational to date. Now, the municipality plans to convert that site into a multipurpose commercial area.

Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey inaugurated the bus park on September 3, and the local businesses began operating buses from the new facility on September 9. The bus park was constructed with a loan of Rs90 million from the municipal development fund. While the project was initiated after the residents donated 17.5 ropani (0.89 hectares) of land in 2001, the foundation was laid in 2018, and the construction was reportedly completed in June 2021. However, it remained unused for three years until access roads were constructed.

Umesh KC, chair of the Dhaulagiri-Gandaki Transport Company, said that the company has now entered into a long-term agreement with the municipality to ensure the regular operation of the bus park. “At least 10 years are required for us to properly manage the park. Building infrastructure is not feasible with just one-year contracts,” he explained.

For the first year, however, the agreement was settled at Rs1.1 million. The company will be allowed to collect parking fees for small, medium, and two-wheeled vehicles as part of the deal. Additionally, a temporary police post has been established at the park in coordination with the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force. Some of the 20 shutters in the terminal building have been allocated as resting spaces for bus drivers and their assistants.

The existing road to the bus park is narrow for larger vehicles, prompting the municipality to start building a new road connecting the park to the Beni road. Mayor Basanta Kumar Shrestha said that efforts are underway to widen the 2001-built road by removing encroaching structures. The park is strategically located near the Mid-Hill Highway, facilitating access. Daily bus services from Baglung to major cities such as Pokhara, Kathmandu, Bhairahawa, Birgunj, Kakarbhitta, and Nepalgunj are already operational. The buses heading to Rukum and Jajarkot for trips to the Capital also pass via Baglung.

Sixty local families donated a total of 59 ropanis of land for the bus park. Now that 17.5 ropanis have been used to build the park, the remaining land is set to be divided into plots and returned to the original donors. A total of 102 plots are to be handed back to the locals. “Now that the park is operational, we hope to receive our land back,” said Subash Raj Bhandari, chairperson of the Bus Park Management Committee. “For a long time, the land couldn’t be bought or sold because the park hadn’t been built.”

The municipality is actively working to fulfil its commitment to return the land to the rightful owners, said Haridatta Kandel, chief administrative officer.

The municipality is currently repaying the loan it took out to build the bus park, with an annual payment of Rs13 million, including both principal and interest. At this rate, it will take the municipality 15 years to pay off the debt. With the construction of the Mid-Hill Highway and the Kaligandaki Corridor, vehicle traffic has significantly increased in Baglung. The bus park can accommodate up to 80 buses at once, and street lighting has already been installed.