Kathmandu, April 9
The government has withdrawn its decision to let people stranded in Kathmandu leave the city for other districts of the country.
The decision was withdrawn after the Ministry of Home Affairs advised implementing it would not be possible. Likewise, various stakeholders including Province 5 Chief Minister Shankar Pokhrel had also protested the decision.
“Now, understand that this [leaving Kathmandu for other districts] is not possible immediately,” Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Basanta Kumar Nembang confirms.
Updated at 6:05 pm)
—
Govt to let people leave Kathmandu on Friday, Saturday
Kathmandu, April 9
Owing to some recent reports that many workers in Kathmandu are leaving the city for the various districts after they lost their job in the lockdown, the government has decided to let people stranded in Kathmandu, who want to go to their houses in other parts of the country, leave Kathmandu on Friday and Saturday.
A meeting of the high-level committee to control the coronavirus outbreak led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel made the decision.
Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Basanta Kumar Nembang, says the government will drop the passengers at various stations of major highways.
However, the government will not let the people who are currently outside Kathmandu come back to the valley, according to him.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs was mulling over whether to let people leave the city gradually.
A source in the Ministry of Home Affairs says the ministry studied likely positive and negative results of the decision. A recent meeting of the high-level committee to control the coronavirus outbreak had recently assigned the ministry to make a decision in this regard, and accordingly, the ministry had formed a task force for the study, the official informs.
