The chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are holding an emergency meeting after traders boycotted the lockdown and opened their shops from Thursday.

Janak Dahal, chief district officer of Kathmandu, said the local administration offices of the three cities will hold talks with the traders after the emergency meeting, where heads of security agencies from the three districts are also in attendance.

The meeting is discussing ways to manage the lockdown in a safe and proper way, Dahal said.

Opening businesses without safety precautions could raise the risk of coronavirus transmission and burden the health facilities, he warned.

Local traders on Wednesday decided to open their businesses saying the lockdown is hurting their livelihood.
As per the decision, the traders opened their business and shops in various parts of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur from early Thursday morning.

Naresh Katuwal, the president of Nepal National Traders’ Federation, said that since the lockdown has put thousands of people on the verge of losing their jobs and businesses, they decided to open their businesses from 8 to 11 in the morning by taking the necessary health and safety precautions advised by the World Health Organization.