Coronavirus coming from India 'more lethal' than those from China, Italy: Nepal PM Oli
Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said the coronavirus coming from India is more lethal than those from China and Italy and blamed the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan nation on those illegally entering the country from India, as the total number of COVID-19 cases jumped to 427 on Wednesday.
Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said it has become very difficult for Nepal to contain the spread of the deadly virus due to the flow of people from outside.
Many coronavirus infected patients have entered into Nepal. The virus came from outside, as we did not have here before. We could not stop infiltration of people from outside the border, he said.
Oli said that the biggest challenge facing the country today is the rising number of coronavirus cases and blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals breaking the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India.
"The coronavirus coming from India are more lethal than those from China and Italy," he said.
Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing, Oli was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.
Oli's remarks came amid Nepal's border row with India after the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.
He said the Nepal government has been following precautionary measures since early time to stop the spread of the virus. "It is the main priority of the government to make the country free from coronavirus," he said.
There were reports of hundreds of people entering the country daily through different border points despite the deployment of security personnel at all major entry points along the Nepal-India border to check cross-border movement of people during the lockdown.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Oli had instructed authorities to intensify the vigil along the country's southern border with India due to a sudden spike in the number of coronavirus patients and directed the officials to properly manage the lockdown. The nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been extended until June 2.
The coronavirus cases in Nepal on Wednesday rose to 427 after 25 new infection cases were confirmed, the Health Ministry said. Two persons, a man and a woman, have died due to COVID-19 in the country so far.
Prime Minister Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts, as his Cabinet endorsed a new political map showing the three areas as Nepalese territory.
Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there . Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army, he said.
The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.
India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory. Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane last week said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.
He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.
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Rupee settles 1 paisa higher to close at 94.15 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee settled with gains of just one paisa to close at 94.15 against the US dollar on Monday, as rising global uncertainty, escalating tensions in West Asia and soaring crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the INR/USD pair pared its initial losses, but the overall bias remains negative as FII sell-off and elevated crude oil prices restricted the gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 94.11 and a low of 94.28 against the greenback during the day.
At the end of Monday's trading session, the rupee was quoted at 94.15, registering a gain of just 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee extended its losing streak for the fifth day in a row, depreciating 15 paise to close at 94.16 against the US dollar.
"The rupee snapped a five-session losing streak, rebounding in tandem with a rally across regional currencies. However, the mood remains apprehensive as the market braces for a potential RBI intervention around 94.30 and higher crude oil prices," said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the charts, the USDINR pair has reclaimed its upward momentum, carving out a classic bullish structure of higher highs and lows on the daily time frame, he said, adding that for the coming sessions, 93.80 serves as a support, with 94.40 acting as the primary hurdle.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.36 per cent at USD 107.82 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 639.42 points to settle at 77,303.63, while the Nifty surged 194.75 points to 24,092.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 2.362 billion to USD 703.308 billion during the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by USD 3.825 billion to USD 700.946 billion.
