Damak, July 2 :

An all-party committee of locals of Jhapa and Morang districts have demanded expulsion of Bhutanese refugees from the local offices of the donor agencies they have been working for and restrict their employment within the refugee camps.

The all-party committee made such a demand by handing over a memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today.

Instead of employing Bhutanese refugees, local offices of the donor agencies should arrange for employment of educated but unemployed people from the areas affected by the refugee camps, the committee has said in the memorandum.

Member of the committee, Hom Bahadur Karki, said it is illegal to work outside the refugee camps unless government permits them. Refugees from all seven camps in Jhapa and Morang have been working as labours, as teachers and in local offices of donor agencies.

“Employment opportunity to the Bhutanese refugees has deprived people from the areas affected by refugees of their chance to get jobs,” Karki said.

Locals say refugees agree to work for low wages prompting employers to hire them, thus affecting employment of the locals.

Meanwhile, locals, in a meeting held yesterday, decided to expel any refugee working outside the camp at Sanischare of Morang. Meanwhile, the UNHCR has been saying that the government should provide labour licences to refugees.

There is no exact figure regarding the number of refugees working in lcoal offices of donor agencies and other sectors.

Some 105,000 Bhu-tanese refugees are living in seven camps in Jhapa and Morang districts.