WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 213 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 28.8 C 11.5 C Friday, September 25, 2020 | 09-06-2077 Dhangadi Jomsom In virtual meeting, SAARC foreign ministers commit to regional progress Even as arch-rivals India and Pakistan both express their commitments to a connected and effective grouping, uncertainty over the 19th summit remains. ANIL GIRI region and elsewhere and this has KATHMANDU, SEPT 24 led the two nuclear powers to logger- heads over any continued regional Amid uncertainty over its future cooperation. direction, South Asian Association Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah for Regional Cooperation member Mahmood Qureshi, in his turn, states have once again renewed their remarked that artificial obstructions commitment to expediting the were being created to hinder regional stalled regional process, a familiar cooperation. refrain in subcontinental affairs. And “We hope that the artificial obsta- they failed to reach any understand- cles created in its way would be ing when and how it can be reinvigor- removed and SAARC would be ena- ated and when the next summit will bled to function as an effective instru- be held. ment of regional cooperation,” said During a virtual meeting of SAARC Quereshi. foreign ministers, both India and While foreign ministers of the Pakistan, whose rivalry has been the member nations were seated with POST PHOTO: MADHAB ARYAL stumbling block for the regional bloc’s their respective countries’ delega- A landslide at Surumdanda in Phoksingkot village of Rambha Rural Municipality-2 in Palpa killed one person while five others have gone missing. (Report on page 2) progress, called for a connected and tions, the Pakistani foreign minister effective regional mechanism. was in a different room and he deliv- “India wants to build a con- ered his statement from there. nected, integrated, secure and Foreign ministers of the eight prosperous South Asia,” said SAARC member states usually meet India’s Minister for External annually on the margins of the United Fear of infection still keeping patients Affairs S Jaishanker. Nations General Assembly but with He, however, also added that being held virtually in the face of that cross-border terrorism, the Covid-19 pandemic this year, they blocking connectivity and decided to meet virtually. away from hospitals across the country obstruction to trade are three During the meetings of recent past key challenges that SAARC must in New York, foreign ministers of overcome. India and Pakistan would leave the Doctors worry patients avoiding hospital visits for fear of contracting Covid-19 could India has been accusing room while the other was delivering Pakistan of cross-border terror- his address. lead to far worse consequences in cases of heart and stomach problems and cancers. ism in the disputed Kashmir >> Continued on page 2 Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital from Naya Thimi, Bhaktapur for her regular check-up. Since March, she has not made a single visit. With the Covid-19 con- cerns still around, especially for elders, her family has been postponing her treatment. Instead, they are rely- ing on a local clinic and medication it prescribes. “We are regularly visiting the clinic nearby and bringing medicines home but haven’t gone to the hospital yet,” Aashish Dahal, her grandson, said. As coronavirus cases increased in the country, most hospitals rushed to shut down their outpatient depart- ment. Hospitals like Seti Zonal hospi- tal in Dhangadi, which used to see an average of 600 patients every day before Covid-19, had only a few dozen visiting. There were numerous reports of hospitals turning away patients, at times even in emergency cases, which led to several deaths in different parts of the country. Amidst the fear of the pandemic, even pregnant women stayed home and chose unsafe deliveries, which resulted in dozens of deaths of preg- nant women in the last five months as they could not reach the hospitals. Records at different hospitals show POST FILE PHOTO that patient visits have gone down As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, common people with health complications, some even drastically. Patan Hospital in Lalitpur with life-threatening diseases, are reluctant to visit hospitals, fearing the virus infection. used to serve around 1,800 to 2,000 out- patients every day, according to Dr SAMIKSHA BARAL er, but Covid-19 is still there,” she said. Bishnu Prasad Sharma, the hospital KATHMANDU, SEPT 24 “I would rather wait than get infected director. on the way or in the hospital.” “The daily visit during the Covid-19 Radha Bhattarai has been unwell for As the Covid-19 pandemic rages lockdown had come down to 150-200,” several months now. But she and her on, common people with health said Dr Sharma, who also oversaw family in Sindhuli would rather want complications, some even with operations during the pandemic her to stay away from hospitals. life-threatening diseases, are reluc- before retiring last month. In January, Bhattarai, 56, had a tant to visit the hospitals, fearing the “I don’t think people were reluctant tumor in her kidney removed at Patan virus infection. to visit hospitals only because of Hospital, Lalitpur. Doctors in For several months, when the the lockdown and transportation Sindhuli, some 134 kilometres east of nation was under a lockdown begin- problem.” Kathmandu which has one govern- ning March 24, followed by prohibito- Other hospitals in different parts of ment hospital, had referred her to a ry orders imposed in several districts, the country also witnessed a decline Kathmandu hospital for the urgent many patients and their families in patient numbers. Chitwan Medical operation. could not visit hospitals because of College in Bharatpur was one that saw The two-hour-long operation went transportation problems. a significant drop in patient visits. well. But worries of the Bhattarai Now, when there is no lockdown and According to Dr Pukar Ghimire, a family remained. prohibitory orders in place, families general physician at the Chitwan Bhattarai had been called for a rou- the Post reached out to were still hesi- Medical College,the health facility tine check-up in July when the coun- tant to make a visit to the hospitals in recorded around 90 percent drop since try was on a lockdown. With the fear their districts or in the Kathmandu the Covid-19 began. of Covid-19 and travel restrictions, valley where they were referred. “Many hospitals have different neither Bhattarai nor her family was Hem Prasad Bhattarai, Radha’s hus- buildings and separate groups of man- ready to take the risk. The follow-up band, said they are petrified of going power for treating all kinds of consultation never happened. to the hospitals, fearing Radha and patients. While Hospitals like To make things worse for the family members accompanying her Tribhuvan University Teaching Bhattarai family, while she writhed in would catch the coronavirus. Hospitals, BPKIHS have different pain her medicines ran out in July. “I have seen my wife racked with buildings to treat the Covid-19 patients “On days when there is pain, I feel I pain. Who would want a family mem- but this is not the case in other hospi- simply cannot bear it anymore,” ber to suffer with pain?” said tals, which have very few buildings Bhattarai told the Post from Sindhuli, Bhattarai. and patients have to share the same over the phone, with her voice break- “It’s not that we do not care about staircase and passage,” said Dr ing. “My family also thought of con- her pain but we are just waiting for Ghimire. sulting a health worker from the local the right time to visit the hospital.” “This might be another reason health post. The agony is not for the Bhattarai patients are afraid to visit hospitals.” But Radha’s family thought it was family alone. Dr Narayan Parajuli of Meditech too big a risk to take her to hospital. Yasoda Dahal needs regular hospi- International Hospital, a private They want to wait for the situation to tal visits—sometimes twice or thrice health care centre in Butwal, wonders normalise. in a month. Yasoda, 75, has been diag- about the condition of patients who “Now there is no lockdown and peo- nosed with various issues with her have postponed their hospital visits. ple can travel from one place to anoth- health in the last few years. She visits >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Landslides kill 11 people in Syangja and Palpa districts as five others go missing Security personnel say rescue efforts have been affected due to adverse weather conditions and active landslides in the affected areas. PRATIKSHA KAFLE & LAL PRASAD SHARMA IN POKHARA MADHAB ARYAL IN PALPA SEPT 24 All 36 doors of Gandak Barrage Eleven people died and five others opened as water level in Narayani have gone missing in landslides in Syangja and Palpa districts on Thursday morning. river reaches danger level Nine people were killed by a land- slide in Tamadi in Waling Municipality Ward No 14 in Syangja while one per- District Administration Office has alerted local residents son was rescued alive by locals. POST PHOTO: KABIN ADHIKARI Durga Luitel, a local of Tamadi, against possible floods and inundation. A woman selling maize kernels fends off pigeons as she waits for customers at Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu on Thursday. heard cries for help from a neigh- bour’s house buried under the land- NABIN PAUDEL is still active. The settlements near the slide at around 5:30 on Thursday PARASI, SEPT 24 riverbank areas are at risk.” morning.