Kathmandu: Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel has made it clear that the government has not reached to a decision regarding allowing movement of those willing to travel back to their hometown from the Kathmandu valley.

"Our attention has been drawn towards news regarding decision of High-Level Coordination Committee to let people travel to their hometown from Kathmandu for two days," Pokharel, who is also the coordinator of High-Level Coordination Committee to prevent and control COVID-19, tweeted on Thursday.

"The lockdown was imposed acknowledging the need of protecting the nation from the infection of virus," said Minister Pokharel, in his official twitter handle. "How can we take such decisions during crisis?"

Minister Pokharel highlighted that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had stressed on the need of lockdown to curb the virus during his recent televised address to the nation.

He said that the citizens should take the lockdown seriously. "I hereby clarify that the news relating to lifting of lockdown for those willing to leave the valley is false," he added.

As people have been leaving Kathmandu and marching towards their hometown on foot, the government, however, had been discussing about whether to permit those stranded in Kathmandu to travel to their hometown on Friday and Saturday.

As soon as the news floated over social media, the state governments, through social media itself had been raising their voices against it. The state governments have been stressing on even more strict implementation of lockdown.

https://risingnepaldaily.com/main-news/no-decision-made-to-let-people-travel-home-back-amidst-lockdown-dpm-pokharel