SINDHUPALCHOK: A total of 114 Nepali citizens who were stranded on the Chinese side following the Bhotekoshi flood in Rasuwa returned to Nepal through the Tatopani border point on Thursday.
According to Padam Raj Timalsina, chief of the Tatopani Immigration Office, the Chinese side brought the Nepali citizens who were safe in the Kerung area to the Liping area of the Tatopani border and handed them over to Nepali authorities along with details including their passport numbers.
“Chinese representatives handed over 114 citizens from different districts to us at Liping. The affected citizens were sent to Nepal with details including their passport numbers,” he said.
Chief District Officer Shashidhar Ghimire said the Nepali citizens who had been stranded on the Chinese side after being affected by the floods were sent back to Nepal through the Tatopani border.
Although the Tatopani customs office remains closed, the border point is open for the movement of tourists.
Most of those returning are from Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, according to authorities. The Nepali Consulate General in Lhasa said the Nepalis who had travelled to Kerung with temporary passes were facilitated to return home.
Nepalis travelling from the Rasuwagadhi border to Kerung to collect goods, carry out loading and unloading work, or work at hotels and restaurants are not required to obtain visas.
However, after the Rasuwagadhi border and Pasang Lhamu Highway were damaged by the floods, Nepalis who had travelled to Kerung with temporary passes became stranded there.
According to Consul General Laxmi Prasad Neupane, China facilitated their return to the Tatopani border. Nepalis travelling with temporary permits for work or shopping are allowed to travel only up to 30 kilometres inside Tibet.
Consul General Neupane said the Chinese government also assisted Nepalis stranded in Tibet after the floods who did not have passports or visas with them to return home.
The Nepali Consulate General estimates that around 1,600 Nepalis are currently in Kerung, of whom around 800 have registered their names to return to Nepal.
“Most of them had come to collect goods, shop or work in loading and unloading,” Neupane said. “They registered their names because they wanted to return to Nepal.”
Nepali citizens in the area have been affected following the Bhotekoshi River flood in Rasuwa. While some remain unaccounted for, efforts are underway to bring back those who are safe on the Chinese side.
The whereabouts of 239 people from Sindhupalchok who went missing following the floods remain unknown. Their relatives and concerned authorities continue efforts to locate them.
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