Kathmandu, May 11
The Tribhuvan International Airport management says it is preparing to shut regular business of the sole international airport of the country for around 45 minutes this afternoon as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is landing in Kathmandu.
Modi is embarking on a two-day state visit to the Himalayan neighbour and he will land at Janakpur Airport in a holy city in southern Nepal on an Indian Army helicopter at around 10 am.
After offering a puja at Janaki Temple, Modi and his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli will inaugurate a direct bus service from Janakpur to Ayodhya under the ambitious Ramayan Circuit. He will receive a civic felicitation in the city and land at the Kathmandu airport at around 1:15 pm.
Owing to security of the VIP guest, no other aircraft will operate their regular flights from 1 pm to 1:45 pm from and to the airport, according to the airport sources.
Meanwhile, Kathmandu traffic is likely to turn into shambles today as authorities are preparing to restrict vehicular movements on key roads due to the security reasons.
Movements along the roads connecting the airport, Hyatt Regency, Dwarika’s Hotel, Tundikhel, Bahadur Bhawan and Sheetal Niwas will be severely affected.
Modi will have lunch and stay at Hyatt whereas he will have bilateral talks with Nepali counterpart Oli and other officials at Dwarika’s in the evening. Oli will also host a dinner in his honour.
Likewise, in the afternoon, Modi will receive a guard of honour at Tundikhel before visiting Bahadur Bhawan and Sheetal Niwas to pay courtesy calls on Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun and President Bidya Devi Bhandari respectively.
