• National
  • Politics
  • Valley
  • Opinion
  • Money
  • Sports
  • Culture & Lifestyle

  • National
    • Madhesh Province
    • Lumbini Province
    • Bagmati Province
    • National Security
    • Koshi Province
    • Gandaki Province
    • Karnali Province
    • Sudurpaschim Province
  • Politics
  • Valley
    • Kathmandu
    • Lalitpur
    • Bhaktapur
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • As it is
    • Letters
    • Editorial
    • Cartoon
  • Money
  • Sports
    • Cricket
    • Football
    • International Sports
  • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Brunch with the Post
    • Movies
    • Life & Style
    • Theater
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Fashion
  • Health
  • Food
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Investigations
  • Climate & Environment
  • World
  • Science & Technology
  • Interviews
  • Visual Stories
  • Crosswords & Sudoku
  • Horoscope
  • Forex
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Today's ePaper
Saturday, September 20, 2025

Without Fear or FavourUNWIND IN STYLE

24.12°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 57
300+Hazardous
0-50Good
51-100Moderate
101-150Unhealty for Sensitive Groups
151-200Unhealthy
201-300Very Unhealthy
Sat, Sep 20, 2025
24.12°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 57
  • What's News :

  • Constitution at a critical juncture
  • Reform in major parties
  • Poor market monitoring
  • Repair of offices damaged during protests
  • Art exhibition

Gandaki Province

Returnees prefer hotels to unmanaged and overcrowded quarantine facilities

Failure to manage state-run quarantine facilities has forced many returnees to pay their way through quarantine measures.Returnees prefer hotels to unmanaged and overcrowded quarantine facilities
A quarantine facility in Badigard rural municipality in Baglung.  Prakash Baral/TKP
bookmark
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • Whatsapp
  • mail
Prakash Baral
Published at : June 26, 2020
Updated at : June 26, 2020 17:26
Baglung

A recent returnee from Saudi Arabia was asked to stay a night at a quarantine facility in Baglung Bazaar before making his way to his hometown the next day. Having heard of the poor state and mismanagement of the government-run quarantine facilities and holding centres, he chose to stay at a hotel to self-quarantine at Rs 1,700 a day.

“My relatives and friends had informed me that a good number of people have to share a single room in quarantine facilities. So I decided to stay at a hotel, even though I have to pay for the stay unlike at a government-run facility,” he told the Post.

Most returnees to Baglung of late have begun staying at hotels rather than going to government-run quarantine centres in light of multiple reports highlighting the poor management of these facilities. Overcrowded rooms, unhygienic restrooms, unhealthy food and safety issues have marred the government’s efforts in setting up community quarantine facilities at the local level for returnees to stay at while they undergo tests for the coronavirus.

According to the local administration, 80 people are currently quarantining at different hotels in Baglung Bazaar. Nilesh Rajbhandari, chairman of the Hotel Association in Baglung, said returnees from foreign countries book hotels in Baglung as soon as they land in Kathmandu.

Seven hotels in Baglung Bazaar are currently open for returnees to quarantine in.

“We can provide quarantine services to 100 people at the moment from seven hotels,” said Rajbhandari “We can accommodate up to 150 people in those hotels in Baglung Bazaar, if need be.” He, however, was against the local units’ idea to use hotels as holding centres for a few days before moving the returnees to community quarantine facilities.

The hotels provide one room with an attached bathroom per person and meals are delivered to their rooms. “We follow all SOPs for the safety of our guests and staff,” said Enjil Shakya, a hotelier. “We don’t allow intermingling among guests or staff.”

He, however, fears that the local community might boycott his hotel for offering his establishment as a quarantine facility.

Meanwhile, state-run facilities find themselves overwhelmed with the massive influx of returnees, and authorities claim this to be the reason behind poor management of these facilities.

Around 1,500 people are currently staying in various quarantine facilities in the district’s 10 local units. Baglung has reported 142 cases of coronavirus as of Thursday.

Amar Thapa, chairman of Kothekhola Rural Municipality, said, “We have a limited budget of Rs 500 per person per day and we cannot set up proper quarantine facilities with that amount. We are trying to provide the best possible services we can to all quarantined people,” said Thapa.


Prakash Baral

Prakash Baral is the Baglung correspondent for Kantipur Publications.


Related News

3 Gorkha youths killed in Gen Z protests, leaving families and dreams shattered
21 injured as bus falls off road in Gorkha
Elected local officials quit posts for foreign jobs
One dies, six infected as Japanese encephalitis spreads in Nawalpur
Gandaki launches bureaucratic overhaul to curb costs, boost efficiency
Contractor’s quarrying blamed for repeated landslides along Kaligandaki Corridor

Most Read from Gandaki Province

3 Gorkha youths killed in Gen Z protests, leaving families and dreams shattered

Editor's Picks

How misinformation fuelled panic during Gen Z uprising
At 86, Spanish Carlos Soria sets sights on Manaslu
She made history as first woman chief justice of Nepal. Now as PM
3 Gorkha youths killed in Gen Z protests, leaving families and dreams shattered
Nepal’s immunisation on the brink after vaccine stocks gutted in arsons

E-PAPER | September 20, 2025

  • Read ePaper Online
×
ABOUT US
  • About the Post
  • Masthead
  • Editorial Standards & Integrity
  • Workplace Harassment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
READ US
  • Home Delivery
  • ePaper
CONTACT US
  • Write for the Post
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Advertise in the Post
  • Work for the Post
  • Send us a tip
INTERACT WITH US
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
OUR SISTER PUBLICATIONS
  • eKantipur
  • saptahik
  • Nepal
  • Nari
  • Radio Kantipur
  • Kantipur TV
© 2025 www.kathmandupost.com
  • Privacy Policy
Top