By Arpana Adhikari

Kathmandu, Apr. 15: People marked the Nepali New Year on Monday amid the lockdown by exchanging greetings on social media like Facebook, Twitter, emails and also in text messages.
Usually, thousands of people used to organise celebrations at various parts of the cities throughout the night to welcome the New Year. Dance parties and mid-night gatherings used to be organised. The people used to throng the temples and religious places and visit tourist spots, make new resolutions, begin new projects, meet their loved ones and eat delicious dishes.
But this year people were confined inside their houses as the entire country has been in lockdown for the third week. Not only the celebrations were limited within the houses, people also witnessed changes in the pattern of New Year greetings. Previously, people used to extend their best wishes for the better prosperity, happiness and health.
As the entire world is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, the President, Prime Minister, ministers government officials, political figures, dignitaries of different fraternities this year wished that the country would be able to control the outbreak and return to normalcy as soon as possible.
The word ‘coronavirus’ was not left out in any single message and greetings, whether it was extended by the head of the state or by the general public. Everyone wished for the end of the virus pandemic and hoped that the country would soon overcome the virus.
In her New Year greetings, President Bidya Devi Bhandari wished that the New Year would give the citizens energy to prevent the infection and subsequent crisis.
Likewise, Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun hoped that the global crisis would end at the beginning of the year.
Highlighting on an urgent need of human-centered new world order that makes higher investment in human health, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced to contribute his salary to the country’s COVID-19 response.
He also made a special call for raising the morale of those who have been leading the difficult war against coronavirus from the frontline and strengthen national unity and self-confidence to defeat the contagion.
Stating that the crisis of COVID-19 is a crisis in human civilization, Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel wished that Nepal could win the battle against the virus.
Likewise, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda also asked the people to follow the lockdown enforced by the government to contain the virus and urged people to defeat the disease with high confidence, self-discipline and the power of unity.
Likewise, former King Gyanendra Shah also wished that the country could create a new history by defeating all natural and human disasters.
Extending his best wishes, president of the main opposition party Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba urged the people to defeat the virus by following the lockdown and maintaining social distance with high morale.