Nepal: Nepalese nationals in Delhi pray for safety of families

Nepal: Nepalese nationals in Delhi are worried about the safety of their families back home amid violent protests in the neighbouring country and are praying for the current situation to ease there.

Udita Khanal, owner of the Nepali Khana restaurant in Khirki Extension here, said, “My mother is here with me but my brothers and sisters are back home in Kathmandu, which is the most affected. We are worried about their safety.”

Khanal said she is facing difficulties in connecting with them due to poor network there.

“We tried to reach them out on Messenger and WhatsApp, but the signal is weak. We try to reach them out on Viber. They were saying that riots were happening yesterday. People cannot even step out for daily essentials,” she said, urging people to pray for her “beloved country”.

She said some of the restaurant’s staffers are also from Nepal but their families are in villages where the situation is better.

“Still they are worried about their families back home. The situation in villages is peaceful but still there is fear,” Khanal added.

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Deb Chhetri, a native of Nepal who has been living in Delhi for the past 18 years and runs a cafe in Majnu ka Tila, said his two daughters are there.

“I am worried about how my daughters are managing themselves there. My wife also stays here with me, so no one is there to look after them,” he said.

Chhetri also said that this morning, he was able to speak to one of his daughters, who told him that they had also participated in the protest.

“I am really concerned about them. I have been praying for their safety, thinking about how they must be coping with the chaos. It is hard to stay calm here, but I cannot do anything,” he rued.

The owner of a Nepali restaurant in Connaught Place said most of their restaurant staffers are worried as they cannot go back to their families.

“When the unrest began, there was some fear among the staff. But most of them are not from Kathmandu, so it wasn’t that intense. They would talk to their families on WhatsApp, and slowly they adjusted. What worries them now is that they cannot go home because of the tightened security,” he added.

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The student-led ‘Gen Z’ protests in Nepal that began against a government ban on social media expanded into a larger campaign reflecting growing public criticism of the K P Sharma Oli dispensation and the country’s political elite over alleged corruption and apathy towards the common people.

The Nepal Army on Wednesday imposed nationwide restrictive orders followed by a curfew to quell possible violence under the guise of protest, a day after deadly anti-government demonstrations forced Oli’s resignation, leaving key buildings in flames and the nation on edge.