“I came to Nepal after toiling for more than four years in Kuwait. But I am disappointed as I haven´t been able to meet my family members,” Rai, who is spending Rs 400 for meal and lodging everyday, told Republica. I am worried that my three-month holiday would be wasted in traveling only, Rai, who works for Hyundai Engineering Company in Kuwait, said.[break]
Rai is among thousands of workers that are facing hardships in the capital due to the Maoist strike. More than 30 workers, who have returned from overseas jobs, are staying in Panchthar Guest House alone. Hundreds of overseas workers are staying at guesthouses in Gongabu, Sundhara and Gaushala.
Those who do not want to stay in Kathmandu are using expensive air service to return to their homes.
“I have no option but to fly to Biratnagar as I know no one in Kathmandu,” said Ramesh Poudel, who returned home after working for a year at Al-Marai Diary Company.
To add to the woes of people, rickshaw and cart pullers, the only means of transport available during the strike, are charging exorbitant rates. Badri Bikram Bhandari of Bhojpur, who returned from Malaysia, and his three friends were compelled to pay Rs 800 each to travel to a guesthouse at Gongabu Bus Park.
“I was shocked to see cart pullers charging such a high fare. We are worried as we don´t know till when we have to stay here,” Bhandari, who returned home after working for seven years in Malaysia, said.
Binod Thapa of Rupandehi had to pay Rs 1,800 to a cart puller to ferry his luggage to Tribhuvan International Airport from Sundhara.
The story of foreigners is no different. Four Australian visitors, who were at the Tribhuvan International Airport to board a flight to Sydney, said the stir had forced them to cut short their stay. “We wanted to spend some more days in Nepal. But political unrest forced us to reduce our stay," said Lauren Pidgeon, who along with his recently returned to Kathmandu after completing a section of Round Annapurna Circuit, told Republia.
They could not travel to Chitwan because of the cancellation of their flight.
With no vehicle plying on the roads, rickshaw and cart pullers are enjoying a field day. “We are earning as much as Rs 6,000 a day, which is ten times higher than what we used to earn on normal days,” Surya Shrestha a cart puller told Republica.
He further informed that only 100 of around 900 rickshaws plying in the capital on normal days are in operation, as most of the rickshaw pullers are participating in the agitation.
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