Hundreds of travelers stopped midway as lockdown tightens

KATHMANDU, April 18: After the government decided not to allow people move from one place to another on foot, hundreds of people heading toward their home town from the Kathmandu Valley have been stopped midway.

After the Health and Population Ministry confirmed 14 new cases on Friday—the most cases reported in a single day which also saw Nepal’s infections doubled in a one day taking the total cases to 30– Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, during a meeting with the High-level Coordination Committee and COVID-19 Crisis Management Center, ordered the concerned authorities to strictly implement the lockdown in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Thousands of daily wage-earners and workers who lost employment due to the nationwide lockdown have been left with no choice but to risk traveling hundreds of kilometers on foot to reach their home village.

But many were stopped along the highway in Kavrepalanchowk, Dhading and Chitwan districts today and will be taken to the nearest quarantine facilities.

The local governments will arrange food and shelter to the people who were stopped there.

According to sources at the Home Ministry, the government also is also planning to send them home wherever possible.

The Supreme Court has order the government to safely transport the stranded people in various places to their home towns.