KATHMANDU, April 17: While expressing serious concerns over the plights of thousands of people walking long distances to reach their home in the midst of this nationwide lockdown, the main opposition, Nepali Congress (NC), has demanded that the government facilitate their safe return home.
Issuing a press statement on Friday, the NC urged the government to arrange transportation facilities to the people who are stranded along the major highways on their way home. "The government should provide immediate relief to the daily wage workers who are badly affected by the lockdown," said the party's spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma.
NC urges govt to facilitate return of Nepalis stranded abroad
Hundreds of people, mostly construction workers and other daily wage earners, are pouring into the national highways to walk home as they ran out of food in the places where they were staying in self-quarantine for the past three weeks. As the extended lockdown entered its third week, they have been forced to walk home as businesses have been shut down in cities and most of them quickly ran short of money.
The NC also expressed concern over the plights of the people living in rural areas who have been hit hard by the lockdown. “Country will witness a human tragedy if necessary measures are not taken in advance”, the party urged the government to further intensify testing across the country.
NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted today, saying that the government has been a mere spectator of this great migration of people to the villages. “I request the government to facilitate their safe return home,” he said.
Deuba has also urged his party people and local organizations to feed and provide a place to stay to those on their way home.
The NC has reiterated its support to the government at this hour of national crisis resulting from coronavirus pandemic.
