The State’s Tourism and Irrigation Minister Satpal Maharaj has requested the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai to facilitate the return of 1,500 Nepali citizens stranded in Uttarakhand to the Nepal.
Maharaj stated that he had informed the union minister of state that due to the lockdown, about 1,500 Nepali citizens had been stranded in and around Dharchula in the border district of Pithoragarh. These Nepalis have been stranded in Uttarakhand for quite some time.
Efforts were also made to facilitate their entry into Nepal but the Nepalese government refused to grant entry to its citizens.
Maharaj said that he had requested the Union minister of State for Home Affairs that arrangements should be made to send the stranded Nepalis back to their nation before or after the lifting of the lockdown.
Failing this, there could be possibility of increase risk of contagion in the border area of Uttarakhand.
It is worth mentioning here that a number of Nepalis migrate to Uttarakhand to work as daily wagers and labourers in different sectors. The local administration is currently taking care of the basic requirements of the stranded Nepalis in Pithoragarh district.