Kathmandu, March 24
The main opposition party, Nepali Congress, has urged the government to introduce special support packages for the needy including the underprivileged, the unemployed and the students as the current status of lockdown, initially announced for seven days, may linger.
In a statement issued on the first day of the lockdown, the opposition party’s spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma expressed his concerns that the needy would find it difficult to meet their basic needs as all the businesses were down, urging the government to support them.
Meanwhile, the party also urged the government to make sure that quarantine and isolation restrictions are implemented effectively.
The party demanded that the government establish at least one lab in each province so that the health facilities in the districts would not need to send swab samples to Kathmandu for a test for the coronavirus. Currently, the facility is available in a Kathmandu lab only.
