NEPALGUNJ: District Administration Office, Banke, that had imposed the three-day curfew in Nepalgunj on Tuesday following the sudden surge of COVID-19 infection, has decided to ease the lockdown in the district. The curfew ended on Thursday midnight.

The new decision will allow the shops providing essential goods to operate for four hours daily from today. These shops will have permission to open from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Earlier, a clash had ensued between the police and locals at Triveni mode in Nepalgunj on Tuesday owing to the confusion over 'grocery hours'. Two people had suffered minor injuries in the incident while a police van was vandalised by locals in the clash.

The curfew will still be imposed, albeit only in the areas with concentrated cases of Covid-19 that were sealed to curb its spread, local level authorities informed.

The vegetable markets in Rani Talau, Tribhuvan Chok and BP Chok will remain shut until another notice, informed Banke Chief District Officer Kumar Bahadur Khadka, adding that these markets are heavily crowded increasing the risk of virus spread.

The movement in the district will be strictly monitored and only those outdoor for essential needs will be allowed to ply the road, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Bir Bahadur Oli, at the District Police Office, Banke.

Entry from border crossings continue

Meanwhile, Nepali migrant workers entering the country from various border points of the district amid the nationwide-lockdown has continued on Wednesday as well.

It has been learnt that 22 Nepalis working in various parts of India were stopped from entering the country yesterday. Among them, 13 were stopped at Rupaidiha border point, while nine at Roshanpurwa border point in Narainapur Rural Municipality. They were then sent to quarantine facilities in India.

READ ALSO: 

• Curfew decreed in Nepalgunj on steady rise of Covid-19 cases
• Clash ensues between police, locals in Nepalgunj; situation now under control