After Nepal Police had arrested a number of e-commerce delivery personnel and entrepreneurs on August 27 for violating the prohibitory order issued by the District Administration Office (DAO), Kathmandu, the DAO has now formed a committee to create protocols so that essential goods can still be delivered by e-commerce companies, the Himalayan Times reported. This committee, which consists of government and police officials, will also take recommendations from e-commerce companies while preparing the protocols. A number of delivery personnel and entrepreneurs were reportedly arrested since home delivery services were not mentioned as essential services in the DAO order. This order, issued to control the COVID-19 pandemic, was first issued on August 19, modified on August 26, and will remain in effect until September 2. The e-commerce companies, however, had argued that they were delivering essential goods such as medicines, food, groceries, masks, sanitisers, etc., the Himalayan Times had reported earlier. Now, however, e-commerce companies can deliver essential goods but not non-essential items such as clothes, cakes and junk food. One of the entrepreneurs had told the Himalayan Times that they had talked to officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies about their services, and the ministry had told them that they could continue operating. The Ministry had reportedly written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting it to allow home delivery services. Similar confusion reigned in India in March-April When the Indian government had imposed the first lockdown to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in March,…
