Bereaved Nepalese man allowed to return home amid lockdown

A bereaved Nepalese man stuck at an Indian relief camp in Dharchula due to the lockdown was sent to Nepal on Sunday by authorities after the Ministry of Home Affairs granted him permission to go to his country to perform the last rites of his mother.

The Nepalese man was sent to his country through the border bridge at Baluakot by the Pithoragarh district administration after the Ministry of Home Affairs gave nod, Dharchula SDM SK Shukla said.

"The Nepalese migrant, Basudev Bhatt, had requested the district administration that he be given permission to reach his country to perform the last rites of his mother who had died on April 15," he said.

Bhatt had sent his request to the MHA authorities who in consultation with their counterparts in Nepal accepted the request, the official said.

All five border bridges on the Indo-Nepal border adjoining Pithoragarh are closed up to May 3 due to a lockdown in force in both countries in view of the coronavirus outbreak.