June 1 : The private sector has urged the government to rethink the modality and timeline of the lockdown announced to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Issuing a press statement yesterday, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) came up with such an appeal.
Alluding to the latest extension of the lockdown period for the seventh time till June 14, it said,”If the government continues to extend such period without any plan to activate business activities, it will further dealt severe blows to the already crippled economy.”
According to it, since the announcement of the lockdown on March 24, the country has seen more than four per cent loss in the gross domestic product and hundreds of thousands of people getting jobless.
“Like several other countries, Nepal shall also ease the lockdown and adopt an effective modality to both contain the spread of the virus and resume business activities,” the FNCCI said.
It also asked the government to ensure easy mobility of workers and raw materials during the lockdown period.
