By Smita Adhikari, Pokhara, June 21: In order to ensure safety of women, Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has brought a special women-only quarantine facility into operation from Thursday. This facility can house up to 50 individuals and is located at Buddha Hospital in Nadipur.

According to Manju Devi Gurung, deputy mayor of the city and coordinator of the high-level committee to prevent and control COVID-19, explained that the need for a separate quarantine arose because of various problems that women faced in the metropolitan’s quarantine facilities.

“Complaints about women experiencing mental, social, sexual and physical insecurities have been coming from different wards. So PMC had been planning to set up a gender-friendly quarantine for some time now,” she said, adding, “Now the implementation has started and it will get further organised in the coming days.”

Local representatives have also been calling for the establishment of a separate quarantine for women and children, saying that the character and behaviour of everyone quarantined could not be ascertained. Just a month ago, a woman quarantined at Navin Secondary School, Naya Bazar, PMC–9, was harassed by some men. “After we got to know of this, we managed a single room for her and assigned a security guard for her,” informed Ram Raj Lamichhane, ward 9 chairman.

The women-specific quarantine came into operation on Thursday and on the very first day, seven women returning from India were taken there. Seven women returning from Kuwait were taken there on Friday. “Women feeling unsafe in other quarantines will also be brought here based on the recommendation from their respective facilities,” Deputy Mayor Gurung said.