Kathmandu, May 1 -- For most Nepalis, the economic crisis brought on by the pandemicfar outweighs its health risks.The majority of Nepal's population is employed in the informal sector, cannot work remotely and have no social safety net.

With many parts of the country going into another lockdown this week, any hope for employment recovery has further evaporated. Amid the uncertainty and financial distress, Kathmandu saw an exodusof tens of thousands of Nepalis fleeing back to their villages, a familiar scene from last year.

The 2020 budget set an ambitious target of creating 700,000 jobs and raised public expectation. Some 200,000 of these jobs were to be created through the Prime Minister's Employment Program(PMEP), a work guarantee sc...