Those who are leavbig Kathmandu Valley and returning home to celebrate Dashain are more likely to reach with Corona. 

Despite the government's request to celebrate Dashain at the place where the person is staying, the risk of Corona infection reaching the village has increased as people have started going to their homes for Dashain.

Rampuri Thapa, chief of Shivpuri village municipality of Nuwakot, said that the number of returnees from the Kathmandu Valley has not stopped this year as compared to the previous year. "There is no way to stop those returning to the village to celebrate Dashain from the roadblocks," he said. "There is no alternative than enforcing the required health care standards."

According to him, the village municipality has built an eight-bed isolation room to face the corona. He said with embarrassment that , it was not possible for everyone. It has become a challenge for the local government to manage the locals who have reached their homes from the Kathmandu Valley to celebrate Dashain in isolation.

Although some locals say that a person going to the village from the valley to celebrate Dashain must stay in home isolation for two weeks, it is not possible to do so during Dashain. However, the local level has not created sufficient institutional isolation. Even though some local levels have formed some bed institutional isolation in collaboration with the District Crisis Management Center (CMC), it is not enough for all those who leave the valley and return home during Dashain.

Deepak Babu Kandel, Gandaki state coordinator of the Nepal Municipal Association and chief of Palungtar municipality in Gorkha, said that everyone should accept the government's request to observe Dashain at the place where they are at.

According to him, the locals returning to the village from the Kathmandu Valley have been urged to stay in home isolation for ten days and not to leave their homes. He said that corona can be infected even without symptoms, so it is better to adopt health awareness than to enjoy this year's Dashain.

Gyan Bahadur Oli, chief of the health department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, said that most of the infected corona in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City's statistics are from outside Kathmandu.

Photo courtesy: Gorkhapatra Daily