Kathmandu, April 18

A meeting of the Nepali Congress’ office bearers urged the government to make arrangements for the stranded people to reach home safely. The main opposition party also demanded that Nepalis stranded in India due to lockdown be allowed to come to Nepal.

The party also directed its cadres to help the stranded people to reach their destinations.

Many daily wage workers and poor people, who have lost shelter and jobs due to the ongoing lockdown imposed by the government to stem the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, have been walking for hours to reach their hometowns.

The NC said relief materials allocated by the federal and provincial governments had not reached the targeted population yet. Stating that there had been partiality in the distribution of relief, particularly in those local levels that were being governed by the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the NC said an all party mechanism should be formed at local levels to ensure that relief materials were being distributed in judicious and transparent manner.

The main opposition party also demanded that the interests on loans taken by all businesses — small and big — should be waived for certain period of time and interest rate should also be reduced. The NC said more than two lakh people had returned to Nepal before the lockdown, out of which a very few stayed in quarantine. It demanded that mobile test centres be set up across the country to expand the scope of COVID-19 tests.

The main opposition party also demanded that the government set up separate COVID-19 hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients as providing treatment to COVID-19 patients from general hospitals could pose risk of infection to other patients. The party also said patients suffering from other disease were deprived of treatment in districts.

The party also urged the government to provide adequate personal protective equipment to doctors and health professionals.

The NC also demanded that the government sack those involved in irregularities in the medical equipment procurement deal and launch an investigation into the alleged irregularity.

The party urged the government to make necessary preparations to rescue Nepalis stranded in foreign countries. The NC condemned the government’s decision to deny entry to Nepalis quarantined in India’s Dharchula. It said the government should allow all Nepalis stranded in the border to enter the country. The main opposition party also said the government should provide relief for farmers as they were the worst hit due to the extended lockdown.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 19, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.