Damak, March 6:

The Bhutanese refugees taking shelter in different camps in Jhapa and Morang districts have been prohibited from working outside the camps.

Saying that the local workers were finding it difficult to get work because the refugees agree to work in a cheaper daily wage, the locals of Jhapa and Morang barred the refugees from working outside the camps, Kamal Niraula, chairperson of a representative of a local nongovernmental organisation said. He added that the decision was taken with consent of local workers. The move follows the scuffle between locals and refugees of Sanischare camp in Morang two weeks ago.

Earlier, the locals of Pathari in Morang had also barred the refugees from working outside the camps. Though similar decision had been taken in Damak of Jhapa, it is not being implemented.

The Bhutanese refugees living in the camps in Morang and Jhapa are found to be involved in different works outside their camps and the locals here have been urging United Nations’ High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to stop the refugees from working outside their camps. UNHCR, however, maintains that refugees should be allowed to work outside the camps.