By Siraj Khan, Nepalgunj, June 11: While the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on, people have started to enter India in search of employment.

The Jamunaha Police said that with the daily COVID-19 infection rate declining in India, lockdowns implemented in various hotspots were lifted and as a result the number of Nepalis entering India for employment hasd increased.

The Police said that mostly the youths of Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Province were going to India from the Jamunaha border.

According to Sub-Inspector Bishnu Giri, chief of Jamunaha Area Police Office, around 300 people were leaving Nepal daily for the past two-three days.

The Nepalis at the border who were marching towards India said that they were compelled to go to India for employment as the pandemic and restrictions imposed to control the virus had left them in a starving condition.

"My family had to live in hunger after I became unemployed for two months due to the pandemic. I am left with no option other than going to India for employment," said Deepak Thapa of Salyan.

Thapa said that many youths in his area were moving to India in search of jobs.

Likewise, Hari Bahadur Khatri of Paanchkatiya,  Jajarkot said, "We decided to go to India after we heard about the resumption of transportation and industries over there."

Meanwhile, the Jamunaha Police said that the number of people returning to Nepal from India was also on the rise. SI Giri said that over 500 Nepalis were returning via the Jamunaha border daily. Similarly, around 500 to 700 people enter Nepal daily from the Nepalgunj border point.

Nepalis go to various places of India including Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Gujrat, Punjab, and Delhi for seasonal works.