3,108 stranded Nepalis abroad flown to Nepal since evacuation operation

KATHMANDU, June 21: Since the government decided to evacuate the stranded Nepalis abroad on the priority basis since June 5, altogether 3,108 Nepalis have been brought back home in the chartered flights so far.

Nepalis who were living in camps abroad, the jobless ones and those whose visas were expired have been initially flown to Nepal from various countries in a coordinated effort among the government’s diplomatic missions abroad, Non-Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) and the government of those countries.

Government evacuated 118 Nepalis from Malaysia, 317 from the UAE and 898 from Kuwait since the evacuation process was initiated. Likewise, 12 Nepalis have flown home from Japan, 18 from Afghanistan, 7 from Hong Kong, 26 from Myanmar and 11 from Australia over the course.

A total of 258 Nepalis returned home from Bangladesh, 313 from Oman, 305 from the Maldives and 146 from Cambodia and Singapore and 248 from Thailand.

The government brought back 44 Nepalis struck in Sri Lanka, 44 in Qatar, 153 in Saudi Arabia and 228 from South Korea.
Similarly, NRNA’s Health Committee’s coordinator Dr Sanjeev Sapkota shared that so far 130 Nepalis living and working in various 13 countries died due to COVID-19, with three new causalities reported this week. Four new COVID-19 cases were reported in Nepalis in African countries this week.
Nepal’s COVID-19 cases tally has reached 8,605 till date as per the latest statistic of the Ministry of Health and Population while a total of 17,797 Nepalis staying in 35 countries have been reported to have contracted the flu-like infection.
Over 10,000 COVID-19 infected Nepalis in 18 countries such as Australia, Malta, Poland, New Zealand, Germany and Sweden among others have recovered from the deadly infection.
The government has also initiated the process to bring back the dead bodies of Nepalis who died abroad due to various reasons during the ongoing lockdown ordered in the country since March 24 to contain the outbreak of COVID-19.
A total of 40 bodies have been flown to Nepal in a chartered flight among them 20 were from Qatar, 11 from Malaysia, six from Kuwait, and one each from Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

While 318 deaths of Nepalis abroad were recorded during the lockdown, the final rites of 114 deceased persons were performed by the deceased’s families in those countries. The 164 dead bodies of Nepalis are yet to be managed, informed NRNA press coordinator Chiran Sharma. RSS