WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 172 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 34.5 C 16.8 C Saturday, August 15, 2020 | 31-04-2077 Simara Jumla ‘We had long been asking the authorities to move us to safer locations’ Lidi villagers say they knew a disaster was coming as the area weakened by the 2015 earthquakes was experiencing landslides since the start of the monsoon season. ANISH TIWARI show any concern even after we had SINDHUPALCHOK, AUG 14 notified the authorities.” The villagers had submitted a mem- On Friday morning, when her house orandum to the District Disaster began to wobble, the first thought that Management Committee for help on crossed Junmaya Tamang’s mind was August 7, but it went unheeded. an earthquake. Then there was a deaf- As monsoon continues, the Tarai ening bang, uncharacteristic of an region has been battered by floods and earthquake, just before her house the hill districts by landslides. started shaking violently. She was on According to Nepal’s National the terrace to retrieve the corn ker- Disaster Risk Reduction and nels she had left to dry and when she Management Authority, landslides heard the noise, her instinct told her have killed nearly 200 in the hilly to flee. But before she could make a regions across the country since mid- move, a large mass of mud and stones April. Seven have been killed in floods came hurtling down the hill. She was in the Tarai plains. knocked out cold by a stone. Sunmaya Tamang, who also sur- “I can’t remember what happened vived Friday’s landslide, said if the after that,” said Tamang, 34. “When I local authorities had responded to the opened my eyes, my husband was pull- villagers’ request, the villagers could ing me out of the rubble.” have survived. She, along with three other survi- “The local authorities had asked the vors, was rushed to Chautara District villagers to relocate to safety, but had Hospital. not arranged any alternate location,” Eleven people were killed and 27 said Sunmaya. “Where could have the are still missing after a landslide villagers gone?” PHOTO COURTESY: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SPEAKER SECRETARIAT struck Golche Lidi village in Jugal Lidi Gaun is a remote village which Eleven people were killed and 27 went missing after a landslide struck Golche Lidi village in Jugal Rural Municipality-2 of Sindhupalchok district on Friday morning. Rural Municipality-2, Sindhupalchok, is two days’ walk from Chautara, the on Friday morning. The landslide bur- district headquarters. The village got ied 13 houses. access to electricity and a road net- Five people were severely injured. work only last year. Tamang was one of them. Pratap Lama, chairperson of Ward Friday’s landslide was a tragedy No. 2 of Jugal Rural Municipality, said that was in the making for months, that his office had asked for help from Restrictions imposed on various activities according to Aash Bahadur Dong, the provincial and federal governments. another survivor. “The latest tragedy is especially “There were foreboding signs for lamentable since there were tell-tale weeks, as small landslides had been signs for the past week,” Lama told and services in Valley to curb virus spread breaking out above the village,” said the Post. Gurung. “The government didn’t >> Continued on page 2 Public gatherings, religious activities, and roadside vending have been banned and restaurants asked to provide takeaway services only. es to take measures--from putting restrictions on public activities to imposing prohibitory orders--as they deemed fit after assessing the situa- tion. As many as 25 districts have issued prohibitory orders to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Ten of them have issued the order through- out the district and 15 partially. The government has tightened entry of people to Kathmandu Valley from various points and banned pub- lic and vehicular movements from 9pm to 5am. When Nepal went into lockdown, the country had reported just two Covid-19 cases. By the time it was lifted after four months, the coronavirus infections had crossed the 17,000 mark. The prolonged lockdown meant businesses were taking a beating while people from the low economic strata were suffering the most. Service sector, including restau- rants and hotels, is among those hit POST PHOTO: KABIN ADHIKARI hardest by the pandemic. Restaurants had already resumed services following safety protocols. After the lockdown was lifted, res- taurants in the Valley had started to TIKA R PRADHAN & SANGAM PRASAIN The local administration offices of open up slowly. KATHMANDU, AUG 14 the Valley have also banned people Araniko Rajbhandari, president of from operating businesses on streets, the Restaurant and Bar Association Chief district officers of Kathmandu, asking the vendors to shut their road- Nepal, said that local administration Lalitpur and Bhaktapur have decided side shops. People will not be allowed offices of the Valley have ordered res- to enforce restrictions on various ser- to sell vegetables, fruits, clothes or taurants to operate only the takeaway vices and activities that involve peo- any other items on bicycles and push- services. ple’s movement, effective Friday mid- carts. Collection of scraps also has “We have been following strict night for 17 days in light of the rising been halted. health and safety protocols. It’s not number of Covid-19 cases in the Valley The local administration has reasonable to ask the restaurants to and its possible impacts on public banned seminars and training pro- close down again after allowing them health. grammes of all sorts. Educational to open,” said Rajbhandari. “It would “Three chief district officers of the institutions will also remain closed. have been better if authorities moni- Kathmandu Valley have separately There’s no change in the odd-even tored restaurants to see whether they issued some restriction orders,” said rule for vehicles--private and public-- were following health and safety pro- Narayan Prasad Bhatta, the Lalitpur but they will have to strictly follow tocols. Closing businesses is not the CDO. “The decision was taken by a health protocols. solution to tackle the spread of the joint meeting of the district security Officials said there won’t be any virus.” committees.” restrictions on people’s movement, According to him, almost all the The orders issued as per Clause 6 (3) but authorities will keep an eye if mem- restaurants have shut down except a of the Local Administration Act-2028 bers of the public are following basic few offering takeaway services. would be in effect from Friday mid- health protocols like wearing masks. “We had opened hotels from July 30 night to August 31 midnight. Concerns were growing lately about as part of our preparation to welcome On Wednesday, the Home Ministry the rising number of Covid-19 cases in tourists, hoping that reopening of stopped issuing vehicles passes to exit the Valley. international flights from August 17 or enter the Kathmandu valley. The national Covid-19 tally has would bring in some foreigners to Mass gatherings in open spaces, all reached 25,551, with 594 new cases on Nepal,” said Binayak Shah, vice-presi- kinds of jatras, fairs and festivals and Friday. According to the Health dent of the Hotel Association of religious activities have been banned. Ministry, 99 people so far have died of Nepal. “As the flight resumption plan Cinema halls, party palaces, salons, the disease. Four people lost their has been postponed until September 1, beauty parlours, spas and gyms will lives to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. we decided to close all hotels, except also remain closed until August 31 In Kathmandu Valley, 119 new cases those which are being used for quar- midnight. were reported on Friday—83 in antine, from Friday.” Kathmandu, 30 in Lalitpur and On Friday, 21 tourism organisations six in Bhaktapur. The tally in issued a joint statement against the Kathmandu Valley reached 1,699 inconsistent policy of the government on Friday with 1,360 in that may hurt the entire economy and Kathmandu, 220 in Lalitpur and warned of a stern protest if flights 119 in Bhaktapur. and other business activities are not After the lifting of the lock- resumed from September 1. down on July 21, cases started to As the lockdown went into its third rise at an alarming rate, but the month, there was growing pressure on federal government said there the government to ease restrictions, won’t be any other lockdown. with public health experts arguing It then decided to give the that a complete restriction was not a authority to local governments solution to the pandemic. and district administration offic- >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL More areas getting sealed in Kathmandu as cases rise With the Valley lacking isolation facilities, asymptomatic patients are staying home while the local authorities wish for more help from the federal government. SHUVAM DHUNGANA & ANUP OJHA where Koteshwor lies. She wishes to get more help from KATHMANDU, AUG 14 Local authorities and the police the central government. make the decision on sealing areas, Meanwhile, people like Kamini It’s been four days since Kamini Devi, according to Senior Superintendent Devi of Koteshwor continue to stay at 35, has not gone out of her rented flat of Police, Sushil Kumar Yadav, spokes- their rented flat. that she shares with her husband and person for the Metropolitan Police “We haven’t decided anything on two sons. Office, Ranipokhari. allowing movement in the area and Local authorities sealed her So far, 19 areas in Bhaktapur dis- there are no alternatives to sealing it,” locality in Koteshwor, Kathmandu, on trict, six in Kathmandu district and said ward 32 official Pokharel.