WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 71 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 33.0 C 8.0 C Wednesday, May 06, 2020 | 24-01-2077 Biratnagar Jomsom A deal might have been reached in the ruling party but suspicions remain Many Nepal Communist Party leaders do not trust Oli to live up to his promises, given numerous past instances of him not implementing agreements. TIKA R PRADHAN anonymity, citing the fluid situation KATHMANDU, MAY 5 in the party. The party averted a crisis on On Monday night, Nepal Communist Saturday after Oli managed to steal Party spokesperson Narayan Kaji party vice-chair Bamdev Gautam Shrestha warned that deviating from from the Dahal faction and reached an the conclusions reached at Saturday understanding with Dahal to run the Secretariat meeting could once again government as per party instructions invite an internal crisis. and allow the latter to lead the party. “There should not be any ifs and On Sunday, Dahal started writing a buts; it just cannot be done. Protecting political document to present at the party unity, abiding by the system and scheduled Standing Committee meet- government functioning as per party ing and provide clarity on the func- instructions… and for that self-criti- tioning of the government and party, cism and commitment to start afresh. and internal power-sharing. That’s the conclusion,” Shrestha The major source of conflict in the wrote on Twitter. ruling party was over power-sharing, Shrestha’s warning came just two and according to party insiders, a deal days after the party had managed to satisfying every leader’s interest was POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA defuse what looked like an insur- not easy to pull off. Mountains emerge behind clouds in this view of Kathmandu Valley captured from Santaneshwar, Lalitpur. mountable crisis in the wake of grow- According to Khanal, as long as Oli ing factionalism in the party. Until implements the party decision, there Friday, the faction led by party chair won’t be any problems. Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior lead- “I have told him that the party will ers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala be fine if we set up a system and fol- Nath Khanal was bent on calling for low proper procedures,” Khanal, who Despite calls to ease the nationwide lockdown, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s met with Oli on Tuesday, told the Post. resignation. But in a series of events “I advised him to follow the party’s that even ruling party leaders are instructions.” describing as miraculous, party chair Establishing a proper system has high-level committee recommends its extension Oli managed to retain his position long been one of Nepal’s major while dismantling the Bhaisepati alli- demands, who has also periodically ance of his detractors. asked that the party adopt the “one Steering panel concludes that lifting restrictions right now is unwise, given the rising number of coronavirus cases. But not two days have passed that person, one responsiblity” system, clouds of suspicions have once again which means that if Oli leads the gov- SANGAM PRASAIN the number of cases this week alone, gathered, as the party prepares for a ernment, he should relinquish the KATHMANDU, MAY 5 with 23 new cases reported since crucial Standing Committee meeting post of party chair. Sunday. Seven new cases in Nepalgunj on Thursday. Oli had attempted to placate Nepal The high-level coordination commit- of Banke on Tuesday took the coun- “There are indications that Oli is by offering him a new position as tee for the control and prevention of try’s tally to 82, prompting the author- not keen on abiding by the under- third party chair alongside him and Covid-19 has recommended yet anoth- ities to put the district on high alert. standing reached at Saturday’s Dahal, along with at least two posi- er extension to the ongoing lockdown On Sunday, the district had reported Secretariat meeting,” a party leader tions as chief minister and some min- in light of the rising number of coro- 15 Covid-19 cases. who has close relations with isterial berths for his faction. navirus cases in the country. According to Bidari, since catego- Nepal told the Post on condition of >> Continued on page 5 “We have decided to recommend rising the districts into different zones that the government continue with did not look feasible, the committee the ongoing lockdown but easing the has recommended that strict security production and movement of essen- be implemented so as to ensure that tial goods,” said Narayan Prasad only essential items, like medicines, Bidari, member-secretary of the can be transported across districts. high-level coordination committee. “We concluded that categorising districts into different zones is practi- POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC cally not possible,” Bidari told the Post. A prolonged lockdown has been painful for the public, particularly the poor people. Nepal has been on lockdown since March 24, with the last extension set Various ministries had pro- dropped it for now,” he said. “So the to expire on May 7. posed that one of the ways in committee decided to continue the Bidari said the committee, however, which the lockdown could be lockdown while putting no restric- did not discuss how long the lockdown eased was by categorising the tions on essential services and gradu- should be extended for. country into zones, but Bidari said ally easing the lockdown in the indus- “Tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting will the committee dismissed the idea. trial and agricultural sectors.” take a decision,” said Bidari. “The “Since the concept of different As the country went into the sixth committee, however, concluded that zones isn’t appropriate for a week of lockdown, discussions had the lockdown has been instrumental small country like ours, today’s started about relaxing the restric- in containing the spread of the virus.” POST FILE PHOTO meeting discussed the idea but tions. But there was a sudden rise in >> Continued on page 5 The top Nepal Communist Party leadership is preparing for a crucial meeting on Thursday. C M Y K WEDNESDAY, MAY 06, 2020 | 02 MEDLEY Inside the Post Quote of the day Hoteliers agree to pay their workers for Chaitra but National yet to decide about coming months, Page 3 Following complaints from many hospitality sector workers that they did not get paid for the month of Chaitra, representatives of hotels on Monday agreed to pay their staff in a talks between the two sides interceded by the Ministry of Labour “The decision of the Hotel Association of and Social Security. Nepal on wage cuts is against the labour law. It is also against the government’s Opinion We pollute our air and water, weaken our respiratory system and make ourselves decision. The government has been shaking vulnerable to viral attacks. We wipe out thousands of other species that rely on clean air and water to sustain them. If the earth spoke in our language, she will its legs to enforce its own decision.” probably call us the most lethal of viruses. Pushkar Acharya, president of Nepal Trade Union Congress, on the decision taken by hotel operators to slash the wages of their employees. Money Apple Inc on Monday capitalised on the Federal Reserve’s emergency measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak to issue its cheapest bonds in years, making it the latest blue-chip company to do so to fund stock buybacks and dividends. Most read online Apple’s offering illustrates how companies with the best credit ratings are boost- ing shareholder returns by tapping cheap debt made available through the Fed’s backstopping of the credit markets. Hotels decide to cut their losses by remaining shuttered for six months World Hotels teetering on the edge amid the coronavirus closure have decided to cut Britain on Tuesday became the first country in Europe to confirm more than their losses by remaining shuttered for six months, as they don’t expect tourists 30,000 coronavirus deaths, and infections rose sharply again in Russia, even as to visit Nepal for at least another year. Officials said more than 3,000 hotels will other nations made great strides in taming the virus, and China marked its third send their staff home because they can’t keep paying their salaries with no rev- week with no new virus deaths. In the US, some states began halting steps to lift enue coming in due to the lockdown. the lockdown restrictions being blamed for throwing millions out of work and upending the global economy even as thousands of new US infections and deaths were being reported daily. Government considers bringing back Nepali migrant workers from Covid-19-affected countries The government has said it is considering repatriating workers stranded in Covid-19 affected countries, weeks after tens of thousands of Nepalis abroad News Quiz urged authorities to allow them to return home. Who gets to return home in the POST PHOTO: ELITE JOSHI first phase, however, will be decided by a host of factors such as an individual’s A woman makes cotton wicks for oil lamps in Bungmati, Lalitpur, on Tuesday. living condition, job and visa status, the situation of their family back home, 1. Seven people were injured on Pulitzer Prize for fiction twice? and how the outbreak pans out in Nepal in the days to come. Monday after members of the a. Suzanne Collins public clashed with police over b. Christopher Paolini distribution of relief materials c. Colson Whitehead Without proper contact tracing, the lockdown in which district? d.