Nepalgunj, April 16

The local administration in Banke has lately stepped up surveillance of religious sites across the district amidst the heightened fear of COVID-19 pandemic.

Following complaints that people were secretly gathering at mosques and madrasas in violation of the lockdown, a team led by Chief District Officer Kumar Bahadur Khadka monitored a number of mosques and madrasas in the district. Besides the CDO, the monitoring team also included local representatives and Muslim religious leaders.

“We are at a time when we have to do everything in our power to help prevent or minimise the possible spread of the virus, hence our visit to the mosques and madrasas,” said Khadka. “This is not a battle against a particular person, class, religion or community, so we hope for everyone’s support in this fight against the common enemy,” he argued.

Further, according to the CDO, the mosques and madrasas have been told not to entertain any visitors from outside and avoid any unnecessary large gatherings in view of the threat of the coronavirus.

“There were very few people at the mosque and madrasas we visited, but we’ve informed the people there about the risk of having visitors from outside and holding large gatherings,” he said, adding the administration would also monitor other remaining religious places.

The team monitored Jama Mosque, Shahbaba Mosque, Namaj Mosque, Gausiya Jyaul Mosque Ekminari Mosque and Fulbari Mosque in Nepalgunj.

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