Seven holding centres in Kathmandu Valley ready for rescued Nepalis

-Narayan Dhungana

Seven holding centres have been set up in the Kathmandu Valley for those Nepalis affected by COVID-19 pandemic to be rescued from foreign countries. The holding centres set up include three at Party Palace, Basundhara, Skyjan Party Palace, Sukedhara and Kundalini Party Palace, Basundhara in Kathmandu and two at Imperior Banquet, Katunje and Heritage Banquet, Madyapurthimi in Bhaktapur with the capacity of accommodating 1,000 people each and two at Delight Party Venue, Mahalaxmisthan and Mandala Party Venue, Kharibot in Lalitpur with the capacity of 900 people. Two holding centres each at Miracle Party Palace, Sukedhara in Kathmandu and at Siddhartha College, Dhobighat in Lalitpur have been kept on standby.

The government is set to rescue those Nepalis trapped in foreign countries due to the infection from tomorrow (Friday). The COVID-19 Crisis Management Committee will take the whole responsibility of management, operation and monitoring of the rescued Nepalis while NA lends support.

The centres are all ready, said NA’s spokesperson Bigyan Dev Pandey. NA would play an important role in transporting the rescued Nepalis from Tribhuvan International Airport to the centres with the help of other sectors and providing security and making other arrangements for them until they are handed to the respective state, he said.

Those rescued Nepalis from Bagmati State, Gandaki State and State 5 will be kept separately in the centres in Kathmandu. Likewise, those from State 1 and 2 will be kept in the centres in Bhaktapur. The government manages food and accommodation for them, said Pandey. The centres have met international standards and the rescued Nepalis will get health checkups, he said. Likewise, teams of health workers including specialist doctors have been managed for the centres.

In the first phase, 150 Nepalis will be rescued on Friday from United Arab Emirates. Those who have expired visa term, lost jobs and those who reached foreign countries for various reasons wanting to return home and those who have lost their relatives in Nepal have been prioritised.

The government has assigned seven ministers of the central government to coordinate the handing of the rescued Nepalis to the respective states (Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang (State 1), Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Rameshwor Raya Yadav (State 2), Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizen Parbat Gurung (Bagmati State), Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Padma Kumari Aryal (Gandaki State), Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun (State 5), Minister for Forest and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet (Karnali State) and Minister for Drinking Water Bina Magar