More than two bodies of migrant workers arrive in Nepal from various labour destination countries every day. The government has been bringing the bodies from different countries, mainly the Gulf nations where Nepalis in thousands go in search of employment.

According to data with the Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB), 768 stranded bodies of Nepali migrant workers were brought home in the last fiscal year 2016-17.

The FEPB spent more than Rs 5.8 million for recovering and bringing the bodies back home.

“The first responsibility of sending the bodies is of the companies where the migrant workers were working. Some of them are doing so, but other fraud companies do not assist in sending back the bodies,” said Nirmala Thapa, director of the FEPB. “We bear all the expenses of bringing dead bodies of those whose families cannot afford.”

Besides, the board also pays for the expenses of carrying the bodies from the Tribhuvan International Airport to the deceased’s home. Currently, four companies have been contracted for transporting the bodies to different districts.

“This service is available 24 hours. The mortuary vans are kept standby so the families of deceased do not have to wait for long after the bodies arrive at the airport,” added Thapa.

The board spent a total of Rs 28.81 million on rescue missions in the last fiscal year.

According to FEPB data, more than Rs 13.54 million was spent on transporting bodies to their home districts whereas Rs 3.94 million was paid for rescuing the migrant workers who were stranded in foreign countries.

The government has also been providing financial support to those migrant workers who need legal assistance in the host country. Last year, government paid Rs 5.5 million for that purpose, according to the FEPB data.   

All of these financial assistances have been borne by the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, which is maintained by the FEPB under the Foreign Employment Act 2007.

Every year, the board allocates fund to different embassies in countries where Nepalis are working in large numbers.

In the last fiscal year, a total of Rs 15.57 million was allocated to Nepali embassies in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Qatar, Malaysia, Kuwait, the United Arab of Emirates, Israel, Egypt and Oman as well as Nepal’s consulate general office in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

“We send them money in advance. If they require more, they can ask for the required funds. Of the total expenditure, a large sum of money is spent on sending back the bodies,” said director Thapa.