By Sampada Anuranjanee Khatiwada

Kathmandu, Mar 21: The possible threat of Covid-19 pandemic has increased the number of people leaving the Kathmandu Valley.
After the government, on Wednesday, directed to close all the educational institutions and postponed all national level examinations until April 12, the number of people leaving the valley has swelled.
The crowd of people at Gongabu Bus Park to return to their homes has increased since Wednesday. Also, everyone was seen much prepared and pumped to prevent the virus infection, with the use of surgical masks, hand sanitisers and gloves.
Sunita Sedhain, 40, who was queueing to buy the tickets to return to her hometown, Nuwakot with two children said, “We have decided to go back to our village for at least a month.”
“The schools are being closed until April 12 anyway and the risk of being infected by the virus, if it breaks out here in Kathmandu, is higher which is why we decided to move to our hometown for some time,” said Sedhain.
Likewise, Dinesh Karki, a Bachelors level student in a Kathmandu-based college, said, “As my classes have come to a halt, I decided to go back to my home and reunite with my family.”
“It is difficult to stay in the valley for students like us, especially during the time of crisis,” said Karki. "It is challenging to live here in the valley during the shortage and price-hike of gas, grains, vegetables and other daily needs.”
Also, villages have much safer had healthier environment with less crowd of people. Therefore, I decided to go back to my village, added Karki.
“Until a few days earlier, the number of people entering the valley used to be higher than the number of people exiting, but the table has turned due to the threat posed by the virus,” said Pushparaj Dahal, of the ticket counter of New Bus Park, Gongabu.
Dahal said that the number of passengers had drastically increased in the past three days. “The environment here in this Bus Park is similar to how it used to be during the Dashain festival.”
“In the previous years, the number of people traveling to their hometowns would increase during the month of Chaitra, due to the academic session break in schools and colleges,” said Dahal. “The number has accelerated more, if compared to last years as well.”
Dahal said that Kathmandu would be desolated if the number of people leaving Kathmandu kept on increasing in the same ratio.

“Around 300,000 people had exited the valley in the last three days,” said Superintendent of Police, Jeevan Kumar Shrestha, Spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, Kathmandu.
The division said that 295, 521 people left the valley in the last three days. According to the division, the number had increased after the government prohibited crowding of more than 25 people in one place and operation of all the educational institutions.
At least 108,458 people and 18,554 vehicles left the valley on Thursday itself. The number is ascending, if compared to previous days.