Nepal

15 Nepali migrant workers stranded in Qatar

15 Nepali migrant workers stranded in Qatar

By Himalayan News Service

Foreign workers walk between safety barricades at the site of the pitch of the Al-Wakra Stadium that is under construction for the 2022 World Cup in Doha, Qatar, on May 4, 2015. Migrant labourers faced abuse that in some cases amounted to forced labor while working on a stadium that will host soccer matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a new report released by Amnesty International alleged Thursday, March 31, 2016. Photo: AP

Khotang, July 12 As many as 15 persons, including four youths from Khotang district who reached Qatar for foreign employment, have been stranded in the Gulf country. Counselor Ambika Dahal at Khotang-based Information and Counseling Centre said that Pradi Rai and Umesh Katwal from Majhuwagadi Municipality and Arpan Rai and Jhalpan Rai from Rupakot Majhuwagadi Municipality, of the district had been stuck in Qatar. The other youths hail from Bhojpur, Dharan, Morang and Jhapa districts. The youths have been taking shelter at other Nepali workers’ residences in Qatar. “They want to return home after they were told to do work that was different from what was stated in their contract papers,” Dahal added. They had reached the Gulf country through Rapti Manpower company in Kathmandu three months ago. The youths from Khotang are learnt to have reached Qatar through a manpower agent named Tej Bahadur Katwal. Dahal said that Pradip’s father and Umesh’s father had registered their complaints last Sunday at the centre, urging the government to help their sons return home safely. She added that the other youths are yet to be identified.