COVID19
News
1 MIN READ
Due to the closed border, a migrant worker is unable to fulfill his funeral duties upon his mother’s death
Basudev Bhatta, a migrant worker, shares his condition as he is forced to mourn the death of his mother in quarantine across the border. As told to Kiran Dhami.
My name is Basudev Bhatta. I am a resident of Shailyashikhar rural municipality in the district of Darchula. For the last three months, I have been working in road construction at Ghatikhola in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.
On 27 March, we decided to return as we had no more work due to the coronavirus. We weren’t getting paid and it was becoming harder to survive. I arrived along with several others on 30 March at the border to find that it was already closed. We pleaded with security personnel to let us in but they didn’t listen. We were left stranded without food or water and Indian officials came forward to help only much later. We have been kept in quarantine ever since.
Five days ago, my mother, Gautami Bhatta, died. She was 65 years old and passed away from a heart attack. Her health had been suffering and she was worried about me and my brother who still remains stranded in Bangalore. As soon as I found out about her death, I tried calling people up and requesting authorities to let me cross the border. So far, I have talked to our mayor and ward chairman back home and to many journalists. They said that I would be allowed to return, but I’m still here. I have even filed a complaint on the police helpline. No matter how many times I tried to call the chief district officer, he wouldn’t take my call.
I am the oldest of five brothers. With two of us brothers still in India, only the youngest three are at home to do the final rites. My mother carried me in her womb for nine months and raised me. Today, look at my condition. I couldn’t even mourn my mother’s death properly. Is it not my right to mourn my mother’s death?
I don’t know what to say to a government that doesn’t understand the plight of its citizens. I would like to thank the two-thirds government. Let them thrive and prosper as we suffer.
:::::::::::
Explainers
Features
2 min read
The government of Nepal finally adopts Covid-19 measures.
Explainers
4 min read
They have three months to comply
Features
8 min read
Conflicting narratives from Hindu Rohingya refugees suggests the Myanmar government is leveraging them for geopolitical gain.
News Analysis
6 min read
Madhesis, Tharus, Muslims, and women are still unable to take ownership of the statute due to the document’s failure to encompass their aspirations.
Features
6 min read
Women prisoners struggle with the difficult choice of sending their kids away or bringing them up in a milieu that could negatively impact their child’s development
Culture
Books
6 min read
Prashant Jha’s debut, Battles of the New Republic, provides an insider’s view of the roles politicians, diplomats, and spies played in Nepal’s Maoist and Madhesi movements
Interviews
12 min read
Vyathit was a prolific poet who wrote in Nepali, Newari and Hindi languages
COVID19
News
4 min read
In a move that was long overdue, Nepal’s government to start tracking patient contacts
