KATHMANDU: Youth leader of Nepali Congress (NC) Gagan Thapa has lambasted the government decision to let Chief District Officers of Kathmandu Valley decide on the issues like issuance of prohibitory orders and mobilizing army at the entrance to Valley as measures to curb the pandemic.
Expressing his opinion on the CDO’s view that prohibitory orders enforced in the valley should be prolonged till Dashain, former Health Minister and lawmaker Thapa has questioned the rationality and jurisprudence of the CDO’s for such action.
“It’s learnt from the media that the CDOs of Kathmandu valley are coming with the opinion of extending the prohibitory orders till Dashain and mobilizing Nepal Army in the entrance in the Valley,” Thapa said on social media, “ Perhaps, they have started regarding themselves as the experts and the right authority to do such things.”
As the ongoing prohibitory orders are not meant to restore peace and order in the Valley, Thapa questions CDOs exercise of the power of enforcing or extending the lockdown or prohibitory orders for such long duration.
He thinks the right authority to offer opinions on such issues are the public health experts who, ironically, are often ignored while making such decisions.
“It’s unfortunate that the political leadership wants to handover such rights to the administrators and let them be blamed for the sufferings if it results in the hardship for people,” Thapa has said, “This further weakens the already staggering feet in the battle against coronavirus pandemic.”
According to NC Lawmaker Thapa, the presence of government is felt on two occasions—at the time of prolonging or declaring the prohibitory orders via the CDOs and every afternoon during the coronavirus update by the Health Ministry’s Spokesperson.
“The political leadership in a hide behind the face of bureaucrats is in isolation in Baluwatar, the government doesn’t utter a sound, the parliament is shut, the harbingers of the people’s messages are blocked in all ways possible, in such situation should we applaud the presence of government in the form of CDO’s prohibitory orders and the coronavirus case hike update from the spokesperson of the Health Ministry?” Thapa has asked.
He has reminded the expectations of the main opposition party and the public that they want the government to take serious action to mitigate the pandemic hazards and criticized the government for making no substantive efforts to curb the pandemic except the declaration of prohibitory orders in various districts.
“Stay Home, Stay Safe slogan is losing sanity as the people are starving and there have been no efforts to feed the hungry and to console the panicked,” Thapa has said, “The government did nothing to ease the trauma and difficulties the people are facing. It has wasted three weeks which could have been used to offer relief to the panicked and suffering public.”
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