LONDON, March 7: The British government has announced a special relief package for the agitating ex-Gurkha soldiers on Thursday.
According to Nepali Embassy in London, the British government announced a special relief package of Rs 6.7 billion for ex-Gurkhas today.
The British government announced this package in line with the recommendation made by technical panel comprising Nepali Ambassador to Britain Dr Durga Bahadur Subedi, representatives from agitating ex-Gurkhas and the British government.
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This package has come in the wake of British Minister of State for Armed Forces Mark Lancaster’s return to Britain after Nepal visit.
With the decision, the British government will send the pension amount to Nepal via a Nepali bank. Earlier, it used to be sent to Nepal via an Indian bank. Similarly, an ex-Gurkha receiving the lowest pension will get Rs 730,000 per year under this package.
However, agitating ex-Gurkhas are not happy with the announcement.
Commenting on the package, Gyanraj Rai, a campaigner of Gurkha movement, termed this announcement as 'a ploy to foil the tripartite negotiation'.
“This is a conspiracy in the name of goodwill payment. We are worried by this announcement,” said Rai.
However, according to a highly placed source at the Nepali Embassy in London,this relief package has paved the way for tripartite talks since this was announced in line with the recommendation of the technical committee.
