Jhapa, August 18

A Polymerase Chain Reaction laboratory set up with the initiative of the public in Kankai Municipality of Jhapa has yet to come into operation due to lack of permission from the provincial government.

The PCR lab was set up in Samarpan Building of Kotihom in Surunga with a huge investment of 10 million rupees — courtesy of donors from home as well as abroad. But lab has still not received permission of the health ministry to start operating.

Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai of the province had inspected the lab about a week ago and given assurance that the lab would come into operation in a day or two.

Recently, Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula had also observed the lab and requested the health minister to grant permission to run the lab and conduct PCR tests for COVID-19.

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