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Lockdown blues: Plans to reach Nepal shattered, quarantined few kms from home
Ramesh Thapa, 37, a chef at a restaurant in the state capital, left for his home town in Nepal on May 2 just before the third lockdown began on May 4.
Ramesh Thapa, 37, a chef at a restaurant in the state capital, left for his home town in Nepal on May 2 just before the third lockdown began on May 4.
He planned to cross Nepalganj (Indo-Nepal border) at Rupaidiha, remote town area in Bahraich district, along with his five friends from different parts of the state. All of them had decided to meet at Rupaidiha. Bahraich is one of the transit points in Uttar Pradesh for Nepalese to return home.
In April end, Thapa had planned to visit his ailing mother in Nepal but due to the lockdown, he had to change his plan. He patiently waited till May 1 at his rented accommodation in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, which he shared with four other non-Nepali migrants.
But after it was clear that the lockdown will continue, he contacted his fellow Nepalese friends over the phone, who were also stuck all across Uttar Pradesh after the March 25 lockdown and decided to reach Rupaidiha and thereafter cross-over to Nepal. All of them left their respective places on May 2.
Thapa managed to reach Rupaidiha hitchhiking on May 5. Two of his friends also managed to reach there. However, the three other friends could not meet them at the decided spot. But before they could cross-over to Nepal, cops spotted them and all of them were sent the Haji Mohammad Yusuf degree college at Babaganj, a makeshift shelter home.
“Around 25 Nepalese are quarantined at this shelter home along with others. It has a capacity of 200 people. All of them are being looked after properly,” said Dr Archit Srivastava, in-charge, primary health centre, Charda, Rupaidiha.
“There was no work left in Lucknow. All the restaurants are closed. No one knows when the situation will become normal. In the first week of March, I had sent all my savings to my family in Nepal. Now, I had no money,” Thapa said.
“I had a prior plan to visit my ailing mother in April. But due to lockdown, I was stuck in Lucknow,” added Thapa.
For Thapa and his friends, their journey to Nepal will resume only after the mandatory 14-day quarantine period is over.
