More than 1,500 stranded Nepalese sent to Nepal via Champawat barrage

Nepalese nationals had protested against the Nepal government for not allowing them to enter the country fearing they may spread Covid-19 infection.

More than 1,500 Nepalese were sent to Nepal through Sharada barrage in Banbasa area of Champawat district on Monday. They were housed in relief centres set up in Champawat and US Nagar district till now, said an official.

The government had housed stranded Nepalese labourers into relief camps in Uttarakhand. (HT Photo)

“More than 1,500 migrant Nepalese were sent to Nepal from Sharda barrage on Monday. They were housed in Champawat and US Nagar districts. They were taken by buses and dropped near the international border,” said SN Pandey, district magistrate, Champawat.

These Nepalese had come from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, where most of them worked as labourers and workers. They were housed in relief camps in the two bordering districts. Some of them were with their families and were in a distressed condition.

They were stuck in India as Nepalese government had sealed the Indo-Nepal border to check Covid-19 outbreak and was reluctant to permit their entry fearing they may bring infection into Nepal, an official said.

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“450 Nepalese stuck in Nainital district will leave for Nepal on Tuesday. It is decided that the entry gate at Sharda barrage in Banbasa will remain open from 6 am to 10 am daily for such Nepalese migrants. Entry gate will not be opened for all,” Pandey said.

He said Indians stuck in Nepal will return on May 29 and 30 as per schedule. Only those Indians will be allowed to come who have already registered their names with the embassy in Kathmandu.