KATHMANDU, June 7: The main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC), has urged the government to facilitate all Nepali nationals wishing to return home as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Chief of People's Relations Coordination Committee of the party, Gobinda Bhattarai said all Nepali nationals living anywhere in the world have the right to return home. "So, the government should not set a limit. It should make a work plan to bring home each Nepali national wishing to return home," Bhattarai said in the statement on Saturday.
NHRC urges govt to rescue stranded Nepalis
This comes amid reports that the government was preparing to bring in as many as 25,000 Nepali migrants workers living in distressed conditions in various labor destinations on a priority basis. But it is said that several thousands more are willing to return home as they have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bhattarai said that the government should bring all those who have lost their jobs and those who are unable to bear their travel cost at its own expense. He also asked the government to conduct PCR tests of all those returning home and keep them in a quarantine facility as per the set criteria. The government started evacuating Nepali citizens stranded in different countries abroad on Friday. Over 200 Nepali nationals from Myanmar and the UAE have arrived in Kathmandu so far.