Nepali workers who have gone to India are returning back home due to the rapid spread of the new variant 'Omicron'.
Due to the increase of migrant workers from India, Mahottari district witnessed influx of people returning home from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Madras cities. However, there are no records are maintained on their number.
The district shares 38 km border with India. On both sides of the border, buses are available connecting Matihani, Bhittamor and Samsi. But many people are using secret trails fearing that they would be frisked in the border points.
Lalan Kumar Singha from Manrasiwa Municipality of Mahottari district points to the settlement beyond the border and said, "The entry and exit is commonplace here. The village beyond the border is Gorhari of Sitamadi district of India. I don't think our administration is keeping records of the influx."
Similarly, Pabindra Raya from Halkhori shared that many people were using detours to enter Nepal fearing that they would be checked by security personnel at border points. For lack of security check and coronavirus test, the spread of coronavirus in the border area is highly likely which has inflicted havoc among the people here.
Moreover, social activist Mohammad Imtiyaj from Samsi said, "Although it is not wise to disallow people coming back home, the entry points need to be managed well during the crisis to avoid the spread of coronavirus." He is also worried about why the health desk was not set up at border points.
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