The government has failed to bring 98 bodies stranded abroad

The government has failed to bring the bodies of Nepalis who lost their lives while working abroad. The government has failed to bring the body of the deceased to Nepal. The government has failed to bring in 98 long-lost bodies.

More than 150 workers who died abroad due to corona infection have been cremated abroad. Apart from this, the bodies of those who died due to various other reasons have been left unattended in foreign lands. At present, 46 workers have died in Saudi Arabia, 40 in Malaysia, seven in the UAE and four in Qatar, according to a Labor Ministry source.

The bodies could not be brought to Nepal due to the government’s indifference. Although parallel labor source countries India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines have repatriated the bodies of their dead workers, the Nepali government has not even done its homework. Such a shameful situation has arisen due to lack of coordination between the three ministries, even though the air service to the labor destination has been partially operational.

Although the relatives of the deceased workers had applied to the Foreign Employment Board for rescue two months ago to bring the body of their relative, the body of the deceased worker has been stopped due to lack of immediate coordination between the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Though the Foreign Employment Board has written to the Nepali Mission in the destination country to bring the body of the deceased worker immediately, the bodies have been left unattended in foreign lands due to the indifference of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security and two other ministries.

The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have to take diplomatic initiative to bring the bodies of Nepalis who died abroad. According to a Foreign Employment Board source, the board is in a state of readiness to manage the budget and bring the body to the home of the deceased at home, but the body has been stopped due to lack of coordination at the highest level.

About 2,200 Nepali workers have died so far, including those who received financial assistance from the board and are yet to bring bodies from abroad. The Board has provided financial assistance of more than Rs. Last year, the families of 656 dead workers received financial assistance of Rs 418.4 million.