Nepal resumes public transport services amid Covid-19 outbreak

Sep 19, 2020

Kathmandu (Nepal), Sep 19 (ANI): After six months of long wait, long haul public vehicles in Nepal are out of their garages and set to ferry passengers with all precautionary measures to avoid spread of COVID-19 outbreak during the operation. The nationwide lockdown imposed by the government which came into effect on March 24 had lead to a complete halt in long economic and social activities, targeted to curb the spread of coronavirus infection. Now the wait is over as authorities announced to let them roll on the roads with much more precautionary measures. However, nearly one lakh people associated with public transport were rendered jobless after closure of vehicular movement which came as an attempt to curb COVID-19 pandemic. Allowing vehicles to hit the road again, Government also has allowed service providers to increase fare up to 50 percent of pre-lockdown rate. The concerned authorities also have directed various bus operation committees to conduct PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) test of both the drivers and the vehicle assistants at certain intervals. Kathmandu city contributes about 40-50 percent of total number of Covid-19 cases which has increased the risk of transmission to other districts with the outwardly flow of people in the wake of festive season. Some 50 thousand people used to ferry in and out Kathmandu on a daily basis using road transports.