Lockdown violation increasing at people’s level in Kailali

8 May Kailali  : People in increasing numbers are violating the lockdown announced by the government to stem the spread of coronavirus pandemic. It is found being violated from the people’s level itself.

One can see people walking in hordes since the morning ignoring the stay-at-home orders in the main towns of the district like Dhangadhi, Attariya, Sukhad, Lamki, etc. Although people abided by the lockdown orders in the beginning when it was announced on March 24, they have started violating it of late. People have been coming out in the main road and streets and gathering.

Police have been mobilised to enforce the stay-home orders but they are having hard time doing it as people in large numbers are not heeding them, according to local social leaders. “Police need to be more strict in enforcing the lockdown. May be they have become lenient considering the harvesting and cultivation time for farmers,” said Shiva Prasad Dhakal, an educationist and social leader of Ghodaghodi municipality-8. He said it is regrettable that people do not understand that the lockdown was enforced for their own safety.

Dhakal also expressed concern of the risk of COVID-19 has increased with the growing number of people coming out of their homes and crowding especially in the morning and evening time. Gauriganga municipality’s deputy mayor Anchala Chaudhary also expressed her dismay stating that violation of the lockdown by people has increased in recent days. She said the municipality was working together with the police to enforce the lockdown but the people were becoming negligent.

People coming to the market in hordes to buy goods even during lockdown time has increased the risk of COVID-19, according to Baliram Chaudhary, Chair of the Bardagoriya rural municipality. He said they have been trying to convince the people to stay at home after finding that women carrying small children have started roaming around without even taking minimum precaution. Chaudhary lamented that even the so-called distinguished people in the villages were violating the lockdown more often, posing a challenge in its enforcement.

Ghodaghodi municipality mayor Mamata Prasad Chaudhary said the risk has increased as the youths and adults in large numbers also come out for morning and evening walk. He said although orders have been given to police to take action against people riding motorcycle without adopting safety measures like wearing facemask and gloves, people use clandestine routes to skirt the police checking, which is a matter of concern.

Police has taken more than 1,700 vehicles violating the lockdown into control. More than 600 vehicles are in scrutiny and cases have been filed against 14 people on this offence, District Police Office Kailali’s Deputy Superintendent, Dakshya Basnet, said.

Basnet said more police have been mobilised to enforce the lockdown and various sorts of actions taken against the violators. He added that the police was aware about the increasing violation of the lockdown for various pretexts at some places in the district despite these measures. DSP Basnet said they would intensify police mobilisation to enforce the lockdown.