20 February 2005	Sunday	10 Muharram 1426

MUZAFFARABAD, Feb 19: A committee constituted by the Azad Kashmir government to make arrangements for smooth operation of the bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar on Saturday toured the route in AJK amid heavy rain and snowfall.

Muzaffarabad Commissioner Raja Manzoor Kiani, who heads the committee, told Dawn that the committee had identified two spots on private land in Chakothi where infrastructure for the service would be constructed before April 7.

He said a bus terminal for entry and exit of the passengers would be built, which would house a public call office, a tourist information centre, a waiting room, lavatories and other facilities.

He said another terminal would be constructed in the AJK capital, for which two or three sites were under consideration. Mr Kiani said the committee had decided that the road from Muzaffarabad to Chakothi would be widened to 24ft from the current18ft.

However, officials here are still clueless if the bus would travel up to the other capital or stop short of the Line of Control, from where the passengers would walk to board another bus on its other side to reach their destination.

When asked which side would construct the bridge over the water channel marking the LoC, an official said the matters were to be decided by the ministries concerned of Pakistan and India. "Frequency of travel, number of passengers, their security and process of verification, all these matters are to be decided by the two governments," said the official.

AJK Youth and Culture Minister Deevan Ali Chughtai said the region's government would "upgrade and beautify" Chakothi to make it attractive for the visitors from across the LoC. He said a narrow bazaar in Chinari, 8km before Chakothi, would be widened after payment of compensation to the shop owners.