LOGIN DASHBOARD

    Photo Essays

    3 MIN READ

    Stranded in Kalimpong

    Yojak Tamang, June 13, 2020, Kathmandu

    Stranded in Kalimpong

      Share this article

    A 70-year-old daily wage worker from Dolakha struggles to find work amidst the lockdown in India

    (The Record)

    “I used to grow kopi, so that’s how I got the name Kopi Kaila,” says Nadi Ram Kharel, 70. “Everyone refers to me as Kopi Kaila”. Kopi Kaila came to Kalimpong all the way from Bhimeshwor Municipality (formerly Charikot), Dolakha, two days before the nationwide lockdown was declared in India. Many of his associates from his hometown have already returned to Nepal.

    Kopi Kaila chose to stay back because he thought he might be able to earn a little in exchange for his labour. He was also hoping that the lockdown would end sooner. But the lockdown has now lasted more than two months. And he’s thus earning far less than he’d thought he would at the haat bazar (where the weekly haat takes place).

    “I have been living here at a dharamshala since my day of arrival,” he says. “They charge me 40 rupees a day as room rent, which is increasingly becoming unaffordable for me. I have asked the owner to allow me to pay my rent when better days arrive.”

    Kopi Kaila’s lonesome room is thick with the foul smell emanating from an unmaintained toilet nearby. Two bottles of drinking water lie unattended on the floor, and under his pillow are his carefully tucked-in clothes. A pair of them.

    The Indian state provides food and ration, healthcare facilities, and transportation provisions to stranded citizens who have an aadhar card. But Kopi Kaila and numerous others like him from Nepal have had no option but to survive on the food they got from the state’s municipal community kitchen. That kitchen was closed down once the stranded migrants returned home. Those hit hardest by that closure have been the seasonal migrant wage labourers from Nepal, such as Kopi Kaila.

    On May 23, the Nepal government opened its sealed borders following a protest by thousands of seasonal wage labourers stranded on the Indian side of the border. Subsequently, a group of Nepali labourers working in Kalimpong hired a cab for INR 3,500 to reach Panitanki, near Kakarbhitta. But Kopi Kaila and others like him could neither afford such fare, and nor does the Indian state provide facilities to unrecognized workers like him.

    It’s already June now. Kopi Kaila  continues to take on whatever work comes his way at the haat bazar. His health has deteriorated since arriving in Kalimpong. Because he does not have the necessary utensils to cook, he subsists on the food he can afford at a nearby eatery.

    Even if he could go home, he’d be going home to poverty. And remaining here in Kalimpong means dealing with his ailing self. Alone.

    :::::::


     



    author bio photo

    Yojak Tamang  No bio.



    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    COVID19

    News

    4 min read

    Covid19 Roundup, 6 May: Cases reach 99 and lockdown extended till 18 May

    The Record - May 6, 2020

    A daily summary of Covid19 related developments that matter

    Perspectives

    19 min read

    Social contracts under the CPC in China

    Robin Sharma - September 5, 2021

    Behind the Communist Party of China’s remarkable resilience is its continued ability to meet the aspirations of a majority of its population, something Nepal’s communists have always failed to do. 

    Features

    5 min read

    'Safer at home than in quarantine'

    The Record - June 1, 2020

    The mass-quarantine centres in Nepal are only adding to the suffering of migrant workers returning from India

    Features

    5 min read

    Reconciliation reached among NCP’s leaders

    Bhadra Sharma - September 11, 2020

    The ruling party’s top leaders have finally come to a truce, but the peace probably won’t last

    Features

    Explainers

    8 min read

    Why have Nepali banks increased interest rates on deposits?

    Sajeet M. Rajbhandari - January 13, 2022

    The Nepali economy is going through a liquidity crunch. The Record explains just what that means.

    COVID19

    Photo Essays

    2 min read

    Influx

    Padam Raj Bhatta - January 21, 2021

    The Nepal government’s announcement of a lockdown threw millions of lives in disarray, perhaps none more so than that of migrant workers looking to return home.

    Features

    4 min read

    Art in the time of Covid-19: even more visual artists

    Record Nepal - April 2, 2021

    The Record is back with its mini-series of artists and the projects they worked on during the lockdown and the pandemic.

    Features

    11 min read

    Deaths in custody

    Abha Lal - June 22, 2020

    Patterns of negligence, alleged abuse, and impunity in Nepal Police

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy