Dhading, April 16

More than 200 persons who have set out on foot for their homes from the capital amid the nationwide lockdown are now stuck on the border between Dhading and Chitwan after authorities in Chitwan refused to allow them entry into the district.

Both the districts have banned walking on the roads inside the districts amid heightened fear of coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, while those hiking it home were held up by Chitwan administration at Mauwakhola, the border between Dhading and Chitwan, local residents of Mauwakhola expressed concern about the risk of the pandemic spreading due to these people. Agitated locals, in a show of protest, stopped even emergency vehicles on the road at Mauwakhola.

Though a meeting was held between the CDOs of both the districts to resolve the issue, nothing came out of it after Chitwan administration refused to allow those hiking to advance further.

Dhading administration had yesterday issued a notice banning any movement of pedestrians and vehicles, save those having authorised passes, along the stretch at Pipalamod of Dhunibesi Municipality, bordering Kathmandu and Mauwakhola.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 17, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.