Locals in Bhaktapur district have protested against the government’s move to set up quarantine at Kharipati for those returning from Wuhan in China, fearing the possibility of infection.

The Kharipati locals in unison with the cadres of Nepali Congress (NC), Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) United staged the protest at the gate of Kharipati-based Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) where the quarantine is likely to be built to isolate the Nepalis returning from China and treat them in case of contraction of this flu-like infection.

Coronavirus originated from Wuhan in China and the World Health Organization recently declared it to be a global health emergency.

The irate locals warned that they will not allow the team coming to Kharipati for on-site visit for building quarantine to enter the gate of the NEA.

They submitted a memo to the administrator at the Changunarayan Municipality on Wednesday.

Chief Administrator of the Municipality, Chiranjivi Timalsina, shared that the locals had submitted a memo in protest against the move. According to him, the municipality will call for a meeting within Wednesday to discuss and decide on this matter.

NCP Bhaktapur Chairperson Bachan Deuja pressed for providing a safe treatment to those China-returnees contracting coronavirus.

He viewed that rather than quarantining the China-returnees in the quarantines set up amid the human settlements, the government could consider places featuring greenery and peaceful environment and far from human settlement such as Shivapuri forest area to examine and treat those infected by coronavirus.

Similarly, NC leader and Bagmati State’s parliamentarian Krishna Lal Bhandel echoed with Deuja and said that they would not allow quarantines to be built in Kharipati.

He opined that the locals would be at risk of contracting the infection if the coronavirus-infected persons were treated in a quarantine built amid the human settlements.

Moreover, a meeting held in the chairmanship of NC’s regional working committee, constituency no-1 in Bhaktapur Jivan Khatri has urged the government not to choose human settlements, sources of drinking water and riversides to make research bases for contagious diseases like coronavirus.