New Delhi, July 07: The much-awaited booking of tickets for the Delhi-Lahore bus service resuming on July 11 was delayed today because of non-completion of official formalities leaving many aspirants disappointed. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which on Saturday announced that it would start issuing tickets from this afternoon, kept the passengers waiting for hours before declaring that the bookings would open tomorrow.
DTC officials present at the Ambedkar Bus Terminal said although it had received a green signal from the external affairs ministry to start bookings, "some formalities" are still to be sorted out and are expected to be completed by tomorrow morning. "The MEA has given a green signal but the surface transport ministry has been approached for completion of certain formalities," a DTC official said.
DTC officials, meanwhile, pointed out that travel documents of some of the aspiring passengers were not appropriate. "The visas did not specify the mode of travel between India and Pakistan which is a must," an official said.
An external affairs ministry spokesman, meanwhile, said the government had received official communication on resumption of the service from July 11.
The service, tipped to be the cheaper mode of transport between the two countries and launched with much fanfare on March 16,1999, was snapped on December 31, 2001, 18 days after Pakistan-backed terrorists attacked Parliament. Bureau Report