KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

More than 7,000 people wanting to leave Kathmandu valley have acquired passes from Kathmandu District Administration Office since the government eased the lockdown inside the valley in the last 14 days.

DAO Kathmandu also issued a ‘conventional’ pass today where the people seeking permits are required to fill up forms, along with other supporting documents.

Along with personal information, applicants are required to produce a letter of approval from local level leaders of the applicant’s destination.

The documents provided by local leaders should clearly state that the local government will guarantee that the applicants will stay in home quarantine after reaching there.

Similarly, the travellers will have to provide their personal details as well as details of those traveling with them, which includes age, permanent address, and contact number(s). They will also have to provide details of the vehicle, vehicle owner and driver, and the scheduled date of movement. The new form also mentions that no money will be required for the pass and the applicant can download the form from Kathmandu DAO’s website.

Tulsiram Poudyal, Deputy Chief District Officer of Kathmandu said the majority of those seeking the permit in the past few days were government employees and those returning from hospitals after treatment.

Poudyal urged everybody not to travel across the valley without an emergency situation as the number of virus cases was still increasing.

Meanwhile, the DAO has made it mandatory for people coming from outside Kathmandu valley to produce letters from local leaders from inside the valley, stating that they will ensure that the travellers will remain in home quarantine for 14 days.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.