Kashmir: Bus across Line of Control goes through peacefully

May 5, 2005

The recently started bus across the Line of Control in Kashmir completed its third round-trip free of any untoward incident. The third bus from Srinagar to Muzzafarabad, carrying 37 passengers, left Srinagar at around 0815 hours IST on Thursday. The return trip from Muzaffarabad carried 41 passengers.

Heavy security arrangements were made to ensure no untoward incident took place. Authorities kept the names and addresses of the passengers secret to avoid a repeat of violent attacks launched by militants when the service started. The traveler's place of stay in Srinagar, in addition to the starting point of the bus, were also kept secret.

The 170 km Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road, which was closed for traffic on October 27, 1947 was reopened after nearly 58 years on April 7, 2005.