Despite Fiascos and Rising Covid-19 Cases, Oli Maintains a Stony Silence
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WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 41 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 35.0 C 1.9 C Monday, April 06, 2020 | 24-12-2076 Dhangadi Jumla Despite fiascos and rising Covid-19 cases, Oli maintains a stony silence At a time when world leaders are regularly assuaging the fears of their citizens through regular addresses, Oli last appeared in public on March 20, over two weeks ago. TIKA R PRADHAN KATHMANDU, APRIL 5 The Covid-19 pandemic might have forced entire cities under lockdown and drastically changed peoples’ lives but the government has yet to do things differently, embroiled as it is in a series of controversies. Even while his ministers are getting widely criti- cised in the press and in public for their alleged involvement in corrup- tion even at a time of crisis, Prime POST FILE PHOTO Minister KP Sharma Oli has main- Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli tained a stony silence. The last time Oli appeared before mean that he lacks the confidence to the public was on March 20, in a tele- answer questions, say ruling party vised address to the nation. Since then insiders. POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA the country has reported nine Covid- “The prime minister does not have A view of the Patan Durbar Square in Lalitpur. The popular site is devoid of visitors due to the ongoing lockdown amid the global coronavirus pandemic. 19 cases, including one locally trans- the answers to recent fiascos,” said mitted, and his ministers have been Mani Thapa, a Nepal Communist accused of corruption. Party (NCP) Standing Committee And yet, Oli has not spoken. Instead, member. “He’s maintaining silence on Friday, President Bidya Devi because he cannot face the questions Bhandari addressed the nation, only that are being asked.” Poor quarantine facilities could themselves to invite criticism from many who And it is not just the public demand- said it was the prime minister’s job to ing answers; ruling party leaders allay people’s fears. themselves have raised questions over Oli is largely avoiding public the actions of Defence Minister become outbreak hotspots, doctors warn appearances as he is still recovering Ishwar Pokhrel and Health Minister from his kidney transplant, but his Bhanubhakta Dhakal, two of Oli’s reluctance to even issue a public mes- closest confidantes in government. In quarantine, people are closely packed into small spaces and they continue to share things sage via television or digitally could >> Continued on page 4 like cigarettes, raising the risk of the virus spreading among them. ARJUN POUDEL “A single infected person can easily complained that the federal govern- KATHMANDU, APRIL 5 pass the virus to several others.” ment’s failure to properly define what Over the last few days, people in constitutes quarantine and isolation Of the three people who tested posi- large numbers have arrived from had created confusion regarding what tive for Covid-19 on Saturday, two—a India. Though after the lockdown kind of facilities they were supposed 21-year-old man from Kailali who had thousands of them have been stopped to set up. returned from Mumbai and a 41-year- on the other side of the border, those People are generally kept in quaran- old man from Kanchanpur who who made it to Nepal have been placed tine when they are suspected to have returned from Uttarakhand, India-- in quarantine facilities where they are been exposed to the disease but are not had spent 11 days in quarantine when living in close proximity with each ailing. They are generally kept in iso- they came down with symptoms. other and sharing many things, lation once they come down with There were, however, 44 people in including cigarettes and chewing symptoms and test positive for the the quarantine facility in Kailali and tobacco. In some instances, people in diseases. But the government has used 13 in Kanchanpur, with these patients. quarantine are even sharing beds, the terms isolation and quarantine “Such quarantine facilities where according to Pun. interchangeably. For instance, the we are keeping people in the dozens “Such negligence can jeopardise the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 online por- are risky,” said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, lives of many others,” said Pun. “We tal says that 113 people are currently a virologist at Sukraraj Tropical and have locked down the entire nation to in isolation, but it is unclear what Infectious Disease Hospital in Teku. contain the risks but have failed to exactly that entails. manage proper quarantine Dr Mingmar Gyelgen Sherpa, for- facilities. This defeats the whole mer director of the Department of purpose of lockdown and social Health Services, agrees that the quar- distancing.” antine facilities built in most districts The government has not yet are problematic. defined quarantine, isolation “We should manage those centres and social distancing properly, properly to curb the spread of disease,” nor has it arranged for proper Sherpa told the Post. “Otherwise, those quarantine facilities in various quarantine facilities themselves can districts outside the Valley. become outbreak hotspots.” About a week ago, after the In much the same way that the gov- fourth case was detected in ernment has failed to provide proper Dhangadhi, Dr Gunaraj quarantine facilities, social distanc- Awasthi, health director of ing remains contested in Nepal. Sudurpaschim Province, had >> Continued on page 4 Winter crops lie unharvested in the fields as the lockdown forces farmers indoors There are many who say that farmers should be allowed to work in the fields, as there is little danger of contracting Covid-19 while working five or six feet apart. ly imposed until April 7, has forced tens of thousands of farmers indoors and away from their fields while also creating a shortage of hired labourers to work in the fields. The agriculture sector, which con- tributes 27 percent to the country’s GDP, has already been affected by the comparatively low summer output, of paddy in particular, caused by the delayed monsoon, floods and disease. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic has fur- ther dampened the prospects of a good spring harvest to make up for the sum- mer months. Wheat is cultivated in over 900,000 hectares of land and it is currently harvest season. “The crops will soon wither away,” said Chaudhary. “But what else can we POST FILE PHOTO do but let them die? It’s not safe to go As crops are getting ready to reap, farmers have been locked down in their homes. outside given the current situation.” Shivaraj Bhatta, another farmer in SANGAM PRASAIN yields. But now, he is worried. The Kailali, said that most labourers had KATHMANDU, APRIL 5 ongoing nationwide lockdown returned to their native villages due to enforced by the government to contain the lockdown and there was no one to Hari Narayan Chaudhary’s standing the spread of the coronavirus means work the fields. “Even if we could hire wheat crop in Kailali is ready for har- that he won’t be able to harvest or help, it wouldn’t be wise at this time,” vest. Due to the abundant winter rains transport the grain. said Bhatta. this year, he was upbeat about higher The nationwide lockdown, current- >> Continued on page 4 C M Y K MONDAY, APRIL 06, 2020 | 02 MEDLEY Inside the Post Quote of the day Government to divert Rs 136b budget to anti-Covid-19 efforts, National Page 3 The government has decided to divert Rs 136 billion from its annual budget to fund efforts to combat the effects of coronavirus. However, the entire amount “As revenue is also supposed to dip due may not be available as revenue collection is also expected to suffer. to lack of economic activities, we cannot Opinion confirm how much amount can be diverted Uncertainty is a condition that people in this new world deal with in a far worse from the allocated budget headings.” manner than any previous generation in history. The spread of panic, false content, abuse of faith based narratives, and many more have had a multiplier effect on heightening the fear factor this time. Finance Joint Secretary Dhani Ram Sharma on the government’s Money plan to divert a part of the annual budget to combat Covid-19 . Poultry farmer Karna Bogati was forced to destroy 1,500 chickens as he wasn’t able to feed or sell them. The 41-year-old entrepreneur said that his 2,000 birds were 53 days ready for the market when the lockdown happened. Most read online World US President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” With first case of local transmission, window to prevent a mass number of coronavirus deaths in the coming days, as Queen Elizabeth II outbreak is fast closing, public health experts say delivered a rare speech on Sunday aimed at rallying hard-hit Britain. The Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed three more cases of Covid-19, tak- ing the total number of coronavirus cases identified in the country to nine. Sports According to the ministry, the three patients are a 21-year-old man from Kailali; a 41-year-old man from Kanchanpur; and a 34-year-old woman from Kailali. Simon Halep is trying to look on the bright side regarding the suspension of the tennis season due to the coronavirus pandemic, which means at least she will be referred to as reigning Wimbeldon champion for two years. President Bhandari addresses the nation but many are saying it should’ve been Prime Minister Oli President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday evening made a sudden address to the nation, saying that the coronavirus could not spread in Nepal because of the government’s strong policies and preparations.