Manoj Badu

On Monday, three Nepalis swam across the Mahakali river from India to try and re-enter Nepal. They were detained on the Nepali side of the border by security personnel from the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. 

"We swam across the river to request the Chief District Officer to open the gate to the suspension bridge," said Indraraj Khatri of Dilashaini Rural Municipality in Baitadi, one of the three men. 

The three men, along with 500 Nepalis, have been stranded in Dharchula, on the Indian side of the border, for four days now, as both countries remain under lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. 

On Friday night, Nepali authorities had rescued 225 Nepalis from Dharchula by opening a suspension bridge that connects India to Nepal. The Indian city of Dharchula is spelled slightly differently from the Nepali district of Darchula, on the other side of the border. 

The bridge, however, was only open for a day, on March 24 and since then, around 500 Nepalis have gathered on the Indian side, demanding to be let in. 

“We came here assuming that the bridge will be open,” said Karan Dhami, a Purchaudi local and one of the workers protesting the closure, “but it’s closed and we don’t even have any food. We have been spending our nights by the Mahakali River." 

Most of the Nepalis are daily wage labourers working in Didihat, Dar and Sobala areas of India. On Sunday evening, they chanted slogans against the Nepal government, demanding that the gate be opened. 

Responding to the Nepalis' plight, Sunday’s Cabinet meeting decided to allow all Nepalis stranded on the Nepal-India border to enter the country on the condition that they remain in quarantine for 14 days. 

The government has mandated strict action as per the Infectious Disease Act against those who have returned from abroad but refuse to report and self quarantine themselves.

Published on: 30 March 2020 | The Kathmandu Post