Kathmandu May 24

The budget session of the Karnali State Assembly is beginning at 3:00 pm today with all safety measures in place. According to the State Assembly Secretary, physical distancing has been ensured inside the hall where the meeting will be held. There will not be any presence of the audiences and media persons. Only State Assembly members will be allowed to attend the deliberations throughout the session to prevent the risks of COVID-19 infection. Altogether 165 persons including chief minister, ministers, State Assembly members and staffers have already undergone COVID-19 tests and come negative in the test, informed Jiban Budhathoki, Secretary at the State Assembly. The meeting hall has been sanitized and those attending the deliberations must use protective gears such as facial masks and sanitizer before registering their attendance. The media persons will be viewing the session through videoconferencing and they will be receiving media briefing by the State Assembly secretariat. In today’s meeting, the Speaker will read out the letter received from the Chief Minister to call the budget session. The leaders of the parliamentary parties will then deliver their addresses. According to Dharmaraj Regmi, State Assembly member, deliberations on the Karnali State’s policies and programmes for the next fiscal year 2020/21 will be held. The session will also see launch of the budget for the new fiscal year. The session will also discuss the Karnali State’s initiatives to prevent and control COVID-19 as well as the treatment of the infected ones.