By Modnath Dhakal

Kathmandu, June 5: While the Ministry of Health and Population has decided to propose the government to announce a national health emergency, the private sector is headed to open the business across the country.
Most shops at New Road in Kathmandu opened on Thursday morning while the police struggled to convince the shop owners not to defy the restrictions which remain in effect with the extension of lockdown till the end of the Nepali month of Jestha, 14 June.
Businesses at New Road were replicating the act that happened in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City while Birtamod is set to open from Saturday. Local market areas in the Kathmandu valley like Durbarmarga, Baneshwor and Mahabouddha are also gearing up for the same.
According to the lockdown rules, only the shops of grocery and essential goods can be opened only a couple of hours or two in a day. Sales outlets of other products such as garments, electronics and construction materials are not allowed to open.
Deputy Superintendent at the Metropolitan Police Circle Sunil Jung Shahi-led team had made the shopkeepers shut their shop. "We have urged them to wait for some more days. The shops that opened in the morning were closed in the afternoon," he said.
In a radio interview in the morning today, Vice-President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), the largest business association in the country, had openly appealed the private sector to run businesses and asked them to remain prepared to face the security personnel and protest them if they came to shut the shops.
FNCCI, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, and most of the district and commodity business associations had already urged the government to relax the lockdown and allow the businesses to operate.
National Business Association also had issued a statement on Wednesday urging to open the businesses. It said that the closure of more than two months had caused a severe blow and many small entrepreneurs had experienced difficulties in managing their daily expenses.
Chief administrators of the three districts in the valley Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, Janak Raj Dahal, Narayan Prasad Bhatta and Hum Kala Dahal respectively, decided, after a joint meeting among the three, to recommend the government to reconsider the modality of the lockdown considering the request of the business associations and other stakeholders.
Chief District Officer of Lalitpur Narayan Prasad Bhatta said that the administration had urged the business owners to be patient until the government decided otherwise. Lockdown will be strictly implemented until the recently extended period expires, he said.
"We are in dialogue with the NCC and other traders. They have agreed to go ahead with the government decision," he said.
NCC President Rajesh Kazi Shrestha had met all CDOs of the valley today and recommended to facilitate easing the lockdown as the businesses were prepared to operate the shops with strict adherence to the safety measures.
He said that the chief administrators had taken the suggestions positively.
Earlier on the same day, the District Administration Office of Kathmandu had urged the private sector not to forcefully open the shops.
The CDOs said that the demands of private sector were taken seriously and would be forwarded to the High-Level Committee on the Prevention and Control of COVID-19. The businesspersons had requested the DAOs to allow the opening of business from 11 AM to 5 PM.
However, it is uncertain whether businesses would uphold their decision to open the shops without normalcy in other sectors like health, education, transportation and recreation activities.
Meanwhile, the government has also started homework to relax the lockdown in less sensitive areas with strict measures for the safety of the service providers and salesmen as well as the customers. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has also been assessing the situation in order to prepare guidelines for easing up if the situation allowed so.