Lalitpur, March 15 -- With local demand for hand sanitisers far outstripping the supply, the Lalitpur Metropolitan City has tied up with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology to manufacture its own hand sanitisers, the city officials said on Friday.

The move is yet another proactive measure taken by the city to combat the transmission of Covid-19, which was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization earlier this week. The city had previously announced a drive to manufacture cloth face masks that will be available for Rs5 to 7, well below the cost of other masks.

"We want to make our city self-sustaining in hand sanitisers and masks. The academy has already trained two of our officials, and now the scientists from ...