81 trans-Kashmir bus passengers cross sides at Kaman Post

Srinagar, Dec 21 (UNI) As many as 81 passengers crossed sides at the ''Kaman Aman Setu (Peace Bridge)'' along the Line of Control (LoC) on board the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus today, official sources said.

Altogether 33 passengers -- 18 fresh and 15 returnee -- left here for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on board the ''Karvaan-e-Aman (Caravan of Peace)''. Similarly, 48 passengers -- 4 fresh and 44 returnee -- arrived here from Muzaffarabad.

The bus run was cancelled on December 7 due to bad weather and poor road condition on both sides of the LoC.

The cross-border bus service from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from here on April 7 last year following an agreement reached between India and Pakistan to allow families, separated since 1947, to meet each other. The 170-km Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, also known as the Jhelum Valley road, was closed for traffic on October 27, 1947 when ''Kabailis (tribesmen)'' invaded parts of Jammu and Kashmir which came to be known as PoK.

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