JHAPA, March 15: The Safer Migration Project (SaMi) reported that foreign employment claimed the lives of 166 people from Jhapa and left 54 others disabled over the past four years.
SaMi supports migrant workers and their families by facilitating re-employment approval, family health treatment, financial assistance for injured or deceased workers, and scholarships for their children.
SaMi's district coordinator, Shekhar Budhathoki, stated that 42 workers lost their lives abroad by the middle of the current fiscal year, 80 in the fiscal year 2023/24, and 44 in 2022/23.
Among the 54 individuals who suffered disabilities, 10 cases occurred in the middle of the current fiscal year, 33 in 2023/24, and 11 in 2022/23.
In the fiscal year 2023/24, 34,362 individuals, including 6,528 women from Jhapa secured labor permits for foreign employment. During the same period, 160,672 people from Koshi Province obtained labor permits for overseas jobs.
In Mechinagar, authorities organized 31 orientation programs, financial literacy training, and other initiatives in the current fiscal year. So far, 1,646 individuals, including returnee migrant workers and their families, have accessed various services under the project.