“गरि खान देउ” is a compelling collective call that resonates with most Nepalis. It reflects the suffocation of people wanting just to live and get by. In relation to foreign employment, it also means that because it is difficult to live, Nepalis leave.&nbsp;
The Nepal government should be evaluated more than on its ability to retain youth within Nepal. Its ability to ensure that those who choose to migrate have access to safe, transformative, well-managed migration pathways that provide high return opportunities without high costs and hassles.
In the context of foreign employment, “गरि खान देउ extends to “गरि जान देउ” which would mean ‘Let us leave to live’. This is particularly pertinent now because our international labour market is so shaky. Because access to Nepal’s biggest migrant destinations are in jeopardy, labour diplomacy that puts workers at the centre is now more important than ever.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-mobility/who-gets-to-recruit-for-malaysia-5ll4n3f6" target="_blank">Malaysia</a> had been closed for almost two years, and it recently issued a ten-point list for recruitment agencies that seems to favour the better endowed recruiters while displacing smaller ones that care about worker welfare and recruitment standards.
After the GenZ protests, the UAE stopped issuing visas to Nepali workers for almost two months, ostensibly because of jailbreaks and looted weapons. They have reportedly begun allowing it recently, pending attested police reports.
While the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/europe-now-favoured-destination-for-nepalis" target="_blank">preference</a> of Nepali youth may be shifting toward Europe, in terms of scale and accessibility especially for those with low education, limited English skills, or little work experience, traditional destinations in the Gulf and Malaysia are crucial and continue to make up a major share of overall migration.
Disturbances in these common destination markets can mean loss of livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Nepalis.&nbsp;
Nepali migrant workers want to live and just get by not only in Nepal but overseas as well.
But the way many leave for work abroad can be considered ‘compromised migration’. Sub-par outcomes that migrants are often compelled to settle for due to lack of alternate choices both within Nepal and overseas. The lack of choices abroad &nbsp;is not necessarily the absence of rewarding options globally, where there are severe worker shortages and unfulfilled vacancies, but rather our inability to seize those opportunities.
The Japan Specified Skilled Worker <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-japan-jobs-deal-still-stuck" target="_blank">scheme</a>, for example, is an underutilised migrant labour pathway due to lack of procedural clarity. Although the agreement was signed in 2019, it is only from October that verification of job demands has begun. Nepalis do not need to look for a backdoor as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-hard-working-students-overseas" target="_blank">students</a> or trainees if they are interested to work in Japan, because Tokyo has literally opened the front door and designed a work scheme to address labor shortages. With the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/can-japan-new-leader-afford-to-go-hard-immigration-10931515" target="_blank">new leadership</a> in Japan, there might be changes in how the intake of foreign workers is managed.
Where it has <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bringing-korea-s-prosperity-to-nepal" target="_blank">worked</a>, like with the Employment Permit Scheme (<a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/645571537423013613/pdf/130024-WP-P156586-PUBLIC-2-Korea-Brief-Singles.pdf" target="_blank">EPS</a>) for South Korea, there have been stories of transformation. There are pilot <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-mobility/helping-migrant-returnees-to-pivot-2urk8oo9" target="_blank">innovations</a> for Nepali workers in Korea, including for their reintegration back in Nepal. Would the Korea EPS have worked as well had Seoul not held its presence in Nepal to manage this scheme via the Human Resources Development Service of Korea?
When <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/i-felt-like-i-was-born-to-be-a-nurse" target="_blank">Alpana Adhikari migrated to the UK</a> , she knew exactly why. Her son was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome and she wanted better education facilities for him. In 20 months, she realised the dream. She migrated under a well-designed government-to-government (G2G) pilot initiative that did not require her to pay any fees and offered transparent terms of employment.&nbsp;
Imagine if she had migrated like a majority of other Nepali nurses do — paying exorbitant recruitment fees, expensive license tests, visa delays, unnecessary time and financial costs through ‘consultancies’ which may find ways to cheat.
Just like many migrants’ stories, hers too could have been a story of deferred dreams. She may still have been able to accomplish what she had desired, but perhaps not so soon or as easily.&nbsp;
The G2G pilot was for a quota of 100, but only 40 managed to meet the criteria. The 60 wasted opportunities did not raise eyebrows, not even when our reality is that many who failed to secure a seat through the G2G still managed to migrate through traditional ways, including to the UK.
With or without well-executed labour mobility schemes, people still migrate and gain from it. Because migrating, despite the costs, hassles and struggle, still allow for earnings that are relatively better and regular. People want to move to new places, learn new things, grow, see the world, and as many migrants say they want to “work within a system”.
But ‘better’ is a relative term, the outcomes may be better than what people leave behind in Nepal, but may not be as good as they could be in the global labour market if we had access to better implemented bilateral labor partnerships and a more competent and honest labor mobility industry. We are not making the most of overseas employment, not at an individual or a national level.
This is an area where our public narrative and how we evaluate the Government’s migration management also fall short. Both the Japan SSW scheme and the UK pilot show how wasted opportunities don’t raise alarm even when people seek similar jobs through alternate, more costly and time-consuming, routes.
Hundreds of thousands of workers migrate to Gulf countries and Malaysia but the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/50-diaspora-diaries-in-nepali-times" target="_blank">outcomes</a> can differ vastly depending on the employer. There are differences in recruitment fees, career growth, remittances sent, living and working conditions including safety standards, among others. Working in a multinational company is not the same as working in a supply company, so dismissing the Gulf countries as one homogenous experience overlooks these distinctions.
Nepalis are willing to invest in language training such as Korean for better schemes like EPS when there is trust in the benefits and process. Such investment in skills prior to departure can yield multifold returns.
<a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/287551468053374058/pdf/wps4231.pdf" target="_blank">Evidence</a> shows that a good share of Nepal’s poverty reduction can be attributed to remittances. And this is despite remittances coming from recruitment that involves high cost, skill mismatch, limited choice of good employers or decent jobs, weak labour diplomacy, and a failure to attract top employers.
Fixing the foreign employment sector need not be at odds with fixing the domestic labour market. When the Nepali <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/now-what" target="_blank">diaspora</a> does well, Nepal does well. When one member has access to a good overseas opportunity, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/jajrkot-to-johar" target="_blank">10 members fare well</a> back home. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/more-remittance-more-than-remittance" target="_blank">Remittances</a> far outperform other external financing like FDI and foreign aid, are more resilient and directly reach the pockets of families.&nbsp;
Inclusive jobs and employment as social protection via <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/missing-the-plot-in-nepals-job-scheme" target="_blank">public works</a> programs remain central to our domestic labour priorities. But we should be thinking about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/fee-free-migration-is-possible" target="_blank">inclusive</a> labour mobility programs in a similar way to help the poorest pockets.
Nepal should be attracting the best of employers, diversifying to new destination countries and sectors with better worker protections and higher earnings. Broad, non-binding MOUs should be treated not as an end point, but as the start of further diplomacy and collaboration on skills and labour mobility schemes.
People leave and will continue to leave in the hundreds of thousands. But where to? How? For what kind of jobs? What are the returns of these jobs? At what cost? And what safety protections are in place?
Despite the possibilities for better life outcomes that migration offers, why are there no active demands from the public for good emigration? <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-truth-about-migration" target="_blank">Immigration</a> is a politically divisive topic in many migrant receiving countries. In Nepal the duress to leave (बाध्यता) has become part of our public narrative but the compulsion to choose less rewarding overseas opportunities by migrants has not.
Even the new faces, new voices that have emerged after the GenZ protests refer to migration largely as an outcome of state failure, a problem that needs to be solved. This is not surprising because people are leaving and villages are emptying. Such perceptions are not baseless, but are rooted in many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-abused-by-nepalis-in-luxembourg" target="_blank">stories</a> of abuse that migrants face overseas.
Without romanticising बिदेश or legitimizing the struggles workers face overseas, migration has enabled transformation for countless Nepalis who did not want to be confined by circumstances of birth.&nbsp;
Considering youth aspiration, the demographic shift that have expanded temporary labour programs globally, and the immense power of the Nepali diaspora waiting to be unlocked, “गरि खान देउ” should have a beyond border outlook. If not for more migration, certainly for better migration.
Upasana Khadka heads Migration Lab, a social enterprise aimed at making migration outcomes better for workers and their families. Labour Mobility is a regular column in Nepali Times.

Upasana Khadka

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Living and leaving

This is the 64th episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab. <h2>Tirtha Raj Katuwal&nbsp;</h2> (19 years in UAE/Qatar) We spent our <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-hard-working-students-overseas">youth overseas</a>, and the trend to migrate for work continues. But Nepali youth are not thinking carefully about where they are going, why they are going. They are just going.&nbsp; They often get cheated. They do not invest in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19233">developing the skills</a> that could help them overseas. When you do not have credible skills, you are forced to adjust to conditions that are not ideal.&nbsp; I had to first work in a supplier company too. Only after spending time in<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepali-workers-in-UAE,2914"> the UAE </a>did I understand the labour market, and learn that I could apply for jobs overseas online. That is how I landed my second stint in a luxury property.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250426050436_6c9841d8d6a4bbd7855ee376769f3e9c78b3163b50bd2ba7beaa212734849c7c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250426050436_6c9841d8d6a4bbd7855ee376769f3e9c78b3163b50bd2ba7beaa212734849c7c" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="540" loading="lazy" alt="Returnees prosper together"> </figure>  Now in Nepal, our vision for starting Chef’s Burger and Chef’s Hospitality and Party Venue is to contribute to the country, by developing a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/young-educated-unemployed,664">skilled youth workforce</a> in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-on-my-mind?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2IAf90rgfF7kBhJaHoH_N0eHadKV8UDt6gpZoLCtwoTCOqBigvopAhzgM_aem_RgmcfwotY89YwGuwc2aRuQ%2F">hospitality sector</a>, whether for the domestic or the international labour market. We also want to change the perception that Nepalis are competitive only in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/gadfly-opinion/removing-poverty-with-jobs">low paid jobs</a>, as there are Nepalis excelling in the hospitality sector overseas when given the platform.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/workers-return-to-jobless-nepal">To return or not</a> indeed is a difficult decision for those of us <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/speaking-the-language-of-overseas-work">working overseas</a>. It takes years to start earning a decent salary. I started at AED850 and got it up to AED15,000 ($4,000). To give that up is not easy, of course.&nbsp; But the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics"> situation in Nepal politically is so bleak</a> that you keep postponing homecoming. You wait for things to improve, but they never do. We were lucky as we were well-positioned financially to start our business but not everyone is in that position. They may have the skills and experience but not the money to start something on their own. Their skills and experience are going to waste, which is a big loss for the country. The government needs to do something about that.&nbsp; <h2>Mahendra Tamang&nbsp;</h2> (15 years in UAE) If you get hired at luxury properties like Jumeirah, you are considered set for life. I got to work closely with two Michelin star <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah-0hqsqth1">chefs</a> and learnt so much from them in a short time. When I changed jobs, I was quickly promoted to a senior position. &nbsp; I got to cook for celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and David Beckham. Once you train for a few years as a chef in that position, the world opens up to you. My peers moved to Australia and Europe. My heart, however, &nbsp;was always in Nepal.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250426050440_96982adc23e9dab236759821d11bb66862e091b326164cd3044c9f925c6db165.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250426050440_96982adc23e9dab236759821d11bb66862e091b326164cd3044c9f925c6db165" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Returnees prosper together"> </figure>  My current partners and I worked in Jumeirah and all we talked about as we ate Nepali food on our days off was: नेपला गएर के गर्ने? During visits home, we would try out different<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/finnish-paper-expose-on-nepali-restaurants"> restaurants</a> to understand where we could add value. And we found so many gaps in the market: in<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6136"> food, quality of service, hygiene, employee management</a>, that we had the confidence to believe that we could be the best in Nepal if we joined forces. All of us are from different backgrounds: hotel management, accounting, administration and chefing.&nbsp; Leaving behind a monthly salary of AED11,500, plus bonuses and incentives, was not easy. I had started out with a salary of AED1,200. But how long can a person stay away? &nbsp; The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sky-is-the-limit-for-nepali-chef-in-bahrain?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2rg1waCbiYsBGQCiATj877RoZkbuSw0aqsDaiEGZBTXkc0P-UhRHC9LJw_aem_2VOJEVRweeSmLFoB_vv64A">chef life</a> is busy and if I put in the same level of effort in Nepal, I would be an employer and not just an employee. Being in Nepal would also allow us to think about more than just ourselves.&nbsp; I had reached a phase in life when I was looking for more than just financial security. My life’s missions and what gave me satisfaction was changing, and Nepal was my calling. I came home with one of my partners, Suraj Tamang, to open up our first branch of Chefs Burger while most of our other partners were still in the UAE.&nbsp; While I went back to the UAE, I cannot describe the joy we felt when Suraj sent us videos from Nepal as customers came into the outlet. I forwarded the video to my friends in Korea, like Basanta, to convince him to invest and work with us. After a year or so, we were ready to start our second outlet, and Tirtha and I returned from the UAE for good.&nbsp; There is a misconception in Nepal that partnerships don’t work. That discourages many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preparing-for-nepal-s-returnees">returnees</a> from joining forces, which limits how much you can achieve. We busted that myth. By working collectively, we were able to draw on each other's strengths and pool our finances. It has worked well for us.&nbsp; Even Jumeirah, the property we worked in, has at least 38 main shareholders. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17155">Big companies and growth</a> require working together. Now we continue to dream of bigger expansion plans, and of eventually establishing a &nbsp;world-class resort. <h2>Basanta Simkhada&nbsp;</h2> (14 years in South Korea) My partners are mostly from the UAE but I was working in manufacturing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bringing-korea-s-prosperity-to-nepal">in Korea</a>. One of my partners and I have experience running two restaurants in Thamel. We figured it was not going to be profitable to continue working in Nepal given <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/all-is-fair-in-war-and-peace">the Maoist insurgency</a> and the general uncertainty, so we decided to migrate. He went to the UAE and I went to Korea. At some point, we reconnected online and decided we should try another joint venture. Even though my background was in the hospitality sector, I was working in manufacturing in Korea in a plastic factory. I still learnt quite a lot about the value of hard work and time management.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250426050440_463eccd09f6196b19d43f53367e79a77d0e3f179609cdff362113055d6fed201.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250426050440_463eccd09f6196b19d43f53367e79a77d0e3f179609cdff362113055d6fed201" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Returnees prosper together"> </figure>  Incidentally, my Korean employer had spent nine years in Saudi Arabia before returning to Korea to start his business. He was always very clear about his message to us: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-meat-of-the-story">working in Korea is temporary</a> and we should go back to our home countries and contribute, just like he did. And that is exactly what we are doing. We are reaping the benefits of our <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/work-hard-play-hard">hard work overseas</a>, and providing employment to more than 120 Nepali youths.

Returnees prosper together

This is the 59th edition of Diaspora Diaries, a regular series in Nepali Times with stories of Nepalis living and working abroad. Growing up in Okhaldhunga, my sisters never went to school. I got a chance to take functional literacy classes and learned to read and write. This made me realise the importance of education, so I asked my father to send me to school. He agreed.&nbsp; I had to create this situation for myself. I was fortunate to get my father’s approval despite his initial reluctance because the trend back then was to<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/can-nepal-end-child-marriage-by-2030-gmx92qf3"> marry off daughters</a> after they reached 14 or 15. That was all he had known.&nbsp; Fortunately, my father did not insist on me marrying young. It helped that my brothers in Kathmandu were supportive.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250308030316_5d69794595d47468c9c3a3577cb39c3045aedf47dc758d9abd6cd512b231b2cd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250308030316_5d69794595d47468c9c3a3577cb39c3045aedf47dc758d9abd6cd512b231b2cd" data-rendition-name="original" width="966" height="1138" loading="lazy" alt="With family DD"> <figcaption>STEERING MY OWN LIFE: With my parents before leaving Nepal for the UAE in 2015. My father died soon after I left.</figcaption> </figure>  What was it about marrying young that did not appeal to me? I am not sure. But the thought of it used to make me anxious because conversations with my aunts back then made it seem like they had to give up on everything once they got married. There is no <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/from-slave-to-freedom-fighter">freedom</a> to do what one wants in life.&nbsp; For example, even when there were free all-women adult literacy classes in our village that many of my aunts were keen to join, their families did not approve. Some accepted life the way it was (“यस्तै त हो नि”). Others were sad about having to kill their ambitions.&nbsp; Marrying young felt too restrictive for me, I just was not ready for it. Instead, I came to Kathmandu after Grade 8 to join two of my brothers.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal">How the climate crisis adds to child marriage in Nepal</a>, Sonam Lama Between working as a cook at an office and attending school, where I often had to miss my last class to make it to work on time, I somehow managed to pass my SLC. I then did odd jobs like work as a receptionist and later as a cashier at a Chinese restaurant. I also invested with my brother on Momo Palace, a restaurant that unfortunately did not succeed because there was not enough money to buy a refrigerator, and there were <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-they-kept-nepal-in-the-dark-ages">long power cuts in those days</a>. After finally getting married and having a child in 2010, I was a stay-at-home mom for a bit. After <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">the 2015 earthquake</a>, I left for the UAE leaving my son behind with my family.&nbsp; I first worked at a beauty parlour, waxing, straightening hair, threading. Many of my clients were Filipinas with whom I used to have engaging conversations. I asked for advice about career prospects, and they were generous with suggestions.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030803034_9b84a14526f5ef61c634439d500f1b4c0dbc8126231e8d41f8463771ee9f697e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2025030803034_9b84a14526f5ef61c634439d500f1b4c0dbc8126231e8d41f8463771ee9f697e" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Beauty parlour DD"> </figure>  &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250308030312_c85e454d376bdec42d2f9b1de794a111fbe756542f853c6efd44e031cb623d3d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250308030312_c85e454d376bdec42d2f9b1de794a111fbe756542f853c6efd44e031cb623d3d" data-rendition-name="original" width="528" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="With mother DD"> <figcaption>With my mother in Dubai in 2017, when I worked in a beauty parlour, but passion was always to learn to drive.</figcaption> </figure>  I was always fascinated with driving. Back in Nepal, I used to be in awe of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/women-in-the-driving-seat">women who drove </a>six-wheelers. I used to wait for auto rickshaws driven by women, and had a deep sense of appreciation for what they did because they were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-mountaineer-breaking-barriers,2708">breaking barriers</a>.&nbsp; My customers from the Philippines said they drove company cars or were chauffeurs for Emirati families. I was really interested, and used to call them up in the evenings to seek more advice.&nbsp; The work at the parlour was a necessity, I knew my interests were elsewhere. But the idea of driving on the busy streets was scary at first. But my customers assured me that it was difficult at first, but once you understood the rules, how the system worked, it was safe and driving was very doable.&nbsp; Initially, I faced challenges obtaining my driving license because back then the work visa category determined eligibility.&nbsp; For example, only those in the transport sector, in managerial positions and in security qualified for a license.&nbsp; It was disappointing, but I sought a job at a transportation company and worked as a school bus driver’s companion to manage children on their way to school and back, what we call a खलासी in Nepal.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-flying-doctor">Nepal’s flying doctor</a>, Kunda Dixit I enjoyed the job as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mixed-picture-for-nepal-s-children">the children </a>were friendly, and reminded me of my son of similar age back home.&nbsp; I worked there for a couple of years, even though the pay was 300 Dirhams less than my wages in the salon. But I was so committed to a driving job that I just wanted to get a toehold to obtain a UAE-license. I was the only woman in driving class, the others would be curious about where I was from and why I wanted to drive. I took the lessons seriously, and worked hard to study traffic rules. Such was my determination to obtain a license.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250308030316_f72b15112e7971eefdce49abc88c863d946bd3d6d55ec205631ac945de59b236.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250308030316_f72b15112e7971eefdce49abc88c863d946bd3d6d55ec205631ac945de59b236" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="In UAE DD"> <figcaption>It was a proud moment when I took my son and mother around the UAE in my car in 2017. Wished my father was also there to see me.</figcaption> </figure>  I passed both theoretical and practical tests at one go, and bought a cheap car. My dream had been to drive my mother around, and in 2017, my mother and son came to Dubai, their first trip abroad.&nbsp; I was emotional back then because my father had died unexpectedly just a month after I left for the Emirates. He had asked me to buy him a touch phone, but he died before I even made my first pay check with which I planned to buy it for him.&nbsp; He would have loved to see me driving around Dubai. I took my mother around and also bought her a phone. What I could not do for my father, I did for her. My son was a bit distant at first, as we had been separated for two years. But by the time they were headed back to Nepal, he could not stop crying and clung on to me.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-retail-to-selling-chiya"> From retail to selling chiya</a>, Gautam Guvaju I first started by driving a taxi. There were a few women driving taxis, including two Nepalis. Initially, it was difficult to find my way around Abu Dhabi. If I missed one turn, it could delay customers, and some who were regular on that route would create a fuss.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250308030316_be44085e095b54fca1089bd46303909b8ec1fa971c8ac463907c537a4cfa3911.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250308030316_be44085e095b54fca1089bd46303909b8ec1fa971c8ac463907c537a4cfa3911" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Abu Dhabi DD"> <figcaption>I drove a taxi around Abu Dhabi for five years, but always wanted to do more.</figcaption> </figure>  I wanted to avoid them complaining to my employer, so I would apologise and ask them to just pay their regular fare. Some agreed, others understood that I was a beginner and paid the full fare.&nbsp; I steadily got to know my way around, and drove taxis for five years. I used to read the local news quite a bit to stay informed about traffic law updates.&nbsp; One day, I read that there were women from the Philippines and African countries who were driving buses. I decided to get a bus license.&nbsp; When I first went to apply for it, they questioned me about why I wanted to drive a bus. I told them confidently that I could drive a bus, which was met with much surprise and amusement.&nbsp; I took the classes, the solo female student yet again. As the only woman in a group of 35 during the road test, I used to avoid the ‘ladies first’ offers because I wanted to see how others before me did so I could observe them.&nbsp; I was already a nervous driver, and I got even more nervous when they offered to let me go first. Eventually, I was one of the only seven who passed in the group of 35 drivers. Finding a job as a woman bus driver was somewhat tougher than getting the license. Abu Dhabi did not allow it due to the absence of policies for female bus drivers, so I had to look for a job in Dubai.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/three-toots-for-tootle">Three toots for Tootle</a>, Sonia Awale&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250308030324_d984dee93e0d168a9d049d92594c8882b7e876622972599bcacd3dbb0be978ad.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250308030324_d984dee93e0d168a9d049d92594c8882b7e876622972599bcacd3dbb0be978ad" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Women;s day DD"> </figure>  I was thrilled when I was finally hired by a company that invested in my training as I taught myself the route. With my trainer's help, I used to draw a map of my route with the relevant stops. After the workday, I drove through the route in my car to make sure I was familiar with it. &nbsp; Since then, I have been driving a double-decker bus and taking tourists to old and modern Dubai.&nbsp; It is important to stay curious and keep pushing ourselves. I have invested a lot of money in getting a bus license, classes and other skills training, and I see it as an investment for my future.&nbsp; I don’t know what awaits me. I am 41 now, but want to keep trying new things, and refuse to let my age determine my drive. If I did, I would have stuck to my parlour job instead of taking risks and a pay cut.&nbsp; Many people choose to play it safe in life, but I have always believed in stepping outside my comfort zone and challenging what is considered appropriate work for women.&nbsp; That is what I tell <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/youth-led-feeding-campaign-spreads-across-nepalhttps://nepalitimes.com/here-now/youth-led-feeding-campaign-spreads-across-nepal">Nepali youth</a> who are considering <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/speaking-the-language-of-overseas-work">going abroad for work</a>: do not migrate empty-handed without any skills. Paper certificates do not hold much value if they do not translate into practical abilities. I enjoy my job driving the Big Bus. Earnings aside, it is rewarding to be appreciated by tourists who hop on. They want to take pictures, and ask me about myself. At traffic stops, people crossing the road sometimes wave at me.&nbsp; Such appreciation is like an extra bonus pay, and it motivates me even more. I feel proud to know that I am the first woman double decker bus driver in the tourism sector here.&nbsp; Nepalis in Dubai also shower me with a lot of affection. They tell me they have seen me on the news or on social media, and want to take selfies with me, smiling widely.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250308030332_b2d59d63c0ffff6d6e86e8bc6a7aa583881ab0dbb64ce0e8e253421aa3627436.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250308030332_b2d59d63c0ffff6d6e86e8bc6a7aa583881ab0dbb64ce0e8e253421aa3627436" data-rendition-name="original" width="590" height="1020" loading="lazy" alt="Son DD"> <figcaption>My son on the top deck of my Big Bus when he visited Dubai recently.</figcaption> </figure>  My son tells me how his teachers and friends back home asked about me after seeing video interviews about my journey. It was a proud moment for me recently to drive my son around Dubai on the double decker.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kalpanas-auto-autonomy">Kalpana's auto autonomy</a>, Maheshwor Acharya Diaspora Diaries is a Nepali Times collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working, studying abroad.

A woman’s drive to push boundaries

This is the 41st instalment of Diaspora Diaries, a regular series in Nepali Times with stories of Nepalis living and working abroad. Even as a kid, I could feel my family's standard of living improve when my father left for Iraq after a failed trucking business in Nepal. It crept up in small ways. Instead of five rupees for lunch money, I now got ten. Or the clothes my mother bought me were of a better quality. Birthday celebrations got bigger. Immediately after Iraq, he hopped on a plane to the UAE to work at an Abu Dhabi-based hospital as a supervisor of security guards. It was a relatively easy job, and he earned well. I am not sure why, but the UAE has fascinated me ever since. I suppose part of it has to do with familiarity, as I watched YouTube videos from a young age to learn more about the country where my father was working. When family members encouraged me to go to Australia or the UK for further studies, I figured the UAE was a better option as I did not want to spend my father's hard earned money to go elsewhere. I was well aware of his struggle and sacrifice, and the UAE felt like a better fit for financial reasons. After my 12th, I headed to the UAE on a family visa that my father arranged. On my second day in Dubai, I passed a walk-in interview for a salesman job at a retail store. I also did my bachelors in business administration over weekends at Jaipur University.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230926120936_cd472b68ad1a2f120dd8bc634c049946f5939d80ff2a2993dd34d67109ce72ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230926120936_cd472b68ad1a2f120dd8bc634c049946f5939d80ff2a2993dd34d67109ce72ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="450" height="592" loading="lazy" alt="DD 41"> </figure>  I was hired as a salesman at a clothing company, but most of my responsibilities were that of a stock boy. One day I got the chance to showcase my salesmanship to the higher ups at a sales event at the World Trade Centre in Dubai. Impressed, they pushed me to take on more front-desk sales related tasks. I outperformed my peers, but I was not satisfied. My next goal was to become a store manager. I took it upon myself to learn various skills including bookkeeping, merchandising, setting schedules of staff and preparing sales reports. To learn these skills, I arrived at the store before opening and left after closing. Those extra hours did not translate to overtime pay, and I left the store only to sleep. I soon saw the fruits of my labour when my sales numbers landed me opportunities to train new hirees at the company headquarters. The networking allowed me to get a store manager job at our branch at the Ibn Battuta Mall. We Nepalis are indeed a hard-working, honest bunch, and there is a reason why we have built a strong reputation abroad amongst employers. I did not get to meet my father much because he was based in Abu Dhabi and I was in Dubai. His schedule was more flexible, so he would sometimes come to see me and we would go eat at Nepali restaurants. I did not share my struggles in the UAE with my father, I just wanted him to know the happy bits.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230926120928_e7e65b492d29434a1e997b85c7e8a896ed8402a5215f3ce99040ce1da7c8977a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230926120928_e7e65b492d29434a1e997b85c7e8a896ed8402a5215f3ce99040ce1da7c8977a" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="DD 41"> </figure>  Life in Dubai was not easy. There were 8 of us from five nationalities crammed into a small room. I decided with a Nepali that I got along with to get our own place. It was a tiny 7 by 4.5 feet room that had just enough space for a bunk bed and a tiny fridge. We lived frugally, a large chunk of my earnings went on rent and school fees. Living paycheck by paycheck for me meant starting off the month strong and running dry as it ended. Towards the end of the month, I would have to resort to loans from friends, or I had to stop eating out and innovate to make food last longer by adding water to fried lentils bought in the market for one dirham, or living off white rice and fried sausages, which cost peanuts. After the store manager job, I started dreaming bigger. I was transferred to the head office and had my eyes on the area manager role. But I also had other aspirations that would interrupt my career progression -- I started toying with the idea of returning to Nepal. I was in my mid-20s, and there was pressure to get married and have children. With those added responsibilities, I would not be able to choose a risky career path like entrepreneurship, my calling. I had witnessed what was possible with hard work in Dubai during my 3.5 years there. I figured if I failed in Nepal, I could always return again for a job. It was not easy to convince my family, they wanted me to head to greener pastures like the US or Australia and not return to Nepal. Many returning Nepalis who muster the courage to call it quits and come home usually backed by savings accumulated abroad. Not me. I had no savings, only courage.&nbsp; I had learnt to work hard in Dubai, and had built the confidence to deal with people from diverse backgrounds. Even as I took my Nepal-bound flight, I knew that I would be coming back to Dubai one day, either as a tourist or for a job. I knew this wasn’t the final goodbye to the place that had been home. In Nepal I tried my hand at two different clothing lines, given my retail background. On a trip to India to buy fabric for our clothing business, Jama Store, I remember waiting in line for tea every morning at a tea stall. Chhotu, the young tea seller, drew quite a crowd every morning. Intrigued, my friend Ruchi Karmacharya and I spoke with Chhotu who excitedly demonstrated to us how he prepares his tea, and what makes it so special. This struck a chord, and we considered the possibility of starting a tea place in Nepal. We also noticed many classy tea cafes in India as we walked around. Once we returned, we visited places in Nepal and realised that there was scope for this venture in Nepal as well.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230926120936_e18cd45a48ad0b2fb99250c591d9321f8c6300aadb4ad80cd9933d76d76ba587.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230926120936_e18cd45a48ad0b2fb99250c591d9321f8c6300aadb4ad80cd9933d76d76ba587" data-rendition-name="original" width="936" height="753" loading="lazy" alt="DD 41"> </figure>  Ruchi's sister, a USA returnee, also suggested that there were such elegant tea places in New York with vibrant Moroccan decor and floor seating arrangements, and she encouraged us to pursue something similar. We had no money, so I reached out to my family members in Kuwait and the UAE who agreed to become part investors. We found a vacant place in Kumaripati and renovated it. Chiya Spot was born and we started selling tea. Our special? Chhotu's tea in honor of the boy from Delhi who inspired us. At first, we made do with three or four packets of milk every day to serve our customers. But unbeknownst to us, the famous food vlogger Mr Foodie Nepal featured our café. It blew up on social media and we started getting loads of customers. We could not keep up and had to expand our space to accommodate more customers.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230926120936_0fa4ec82e0ebed65de088a4519b9d9190169017534abb92cd0d2e5e28fdecf42.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230926120936_0fa4ec82e0ebed65de088a4519b9d9190169017534abb92cd0d2e5e28fdecf42" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="DD 41"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230926120936_1f0c371596ab95192026266dcbae582bd01e3c6b313632cdaf927b2410d61c52.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230926120936_1f0c371596ab95192026266dcbae582bd01e3c6b313632cdaf927b2410d61c52" data-rendition-name="original" width="719" height="898" loading="lazy" alt="DD 41"> </figure>  Most recently, we have also opened a new branch in Boudha. While the Kumaripati branch is inspired by Moroccan/Jaipuri decor, the cafe in Boudha is inspired by Middle Eastern design, in particular from Dubai. I remember going to Dubai Gold Souk whenever I had a few hours off to relax in the market and grab a bite with a friend at a Nepali restaurant. Now, I have brought a little piece of Old Dubai back home to Nepal at the new café, to be enjoyed with karak chai that is famous there. While the vlogger Foodie Nepal's post helped draw customers to Kumaripati, my sisters’ social media posts on the Boudha branch went accidentally viral on TikTok. We got so many customers that it got unmanageable, and this even translated to angry posts and reviews as people were not happy with the wait. We were expecting our customer base to increase organically over time, not overnight. Such is the power of social media. For both good and bad. We quickly added staff and are learning every day to improve our service. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230926120936_1e044c0b6bcaea569c6651e5bf53530abc227f99d55490e5a94940ae032c4d64.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230926120936_1e044c0b6bcaea569c6651e5bf53530abc227f99d55490e5a94940ae032c4d64" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="DD 41"> </figure>  I had never, in my wildest imagination, thought I would be leaving retail to sell tea one day. But both branches are doing well, Insallah. We try to create a space for people to relax over tea, conversations, or board games without putting pressure on them to leave or order more items. As long as people are happy, the customer volume or finances will automatically work themselves out, as they have over the past three years. &nbsp;We want to fill the niche left by restaurants that either offer great ambience or reasonable prices, which we don’t believe have to be mutually exclusive. Many migrants spend a large chunk of their remittances to buy land or build houses in Nepal. I returned to Nepal empty-handed. But with my earnings here, I have managed to contribute significantly to my parent's new house, and I could not be prouder. Diaspora Diaries is a regular column in Nepali Times providing a platform to share experiences of living, working, studying abroad. Authentic and original entries can be sent to <a href="mailto:editors@nepalitimes.com">editors@nepalitimes.com</a> with Diaspora Diaries in the subject line.

From retail to selling chiya

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9aa9c7e80680e0878d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1350" height="1565"/><figcaption>Nischal Shrestha, a caregiver in Israel, getting vaccinated last week.</figcaption></figure>Long before Nepalis in Nepal will be vaccinated against the coronavirus, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/overseas-nepalis-on-the-covid-19-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali frontline workers around the world</a> are already receiving their first jabs.The most optimistic prediction for a vaccine to arrive in Nepal is mid-2021, but with countries around the world prioritising medical workers, many Nepalis who work in the healthcare sector overseas are starting to get vaccinated.The globalisation of the Nepali workforce became even more apparent during the pandemic: a Nepali doctor in the UK could be using medical gloves <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/global-glove-makers-compensate-nepali-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made by Nepali workers in a Malaysian glove factory</a> while vaccinating a Nepali nurse.“We always knew healthcare workers would be in the priority group, but the general understanding was it would still be a few months into 2021 that the vaccines would reach us,” said Binaya Raman Dahal, a Nepali hospitalist in North Carolina who got his first injection last week, and said it was like taking any other flu shot.Dahal recalls how his colleagues would fall ill, and hospital staff had to step in even during off days. The first couple of months into the pandemic, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">personal protective equipment</a> ran out, and there was a rush of patients following the July 4 and Labour Day weekends.“There is a big sense of relief that the vaccines are here,” Dahal said over the phone, adding that he will still have to careful because of the risk to family.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9ae9c7e80680e0878d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption>Binaya Raman Dahal, a hospitalist in North Carolina, getting his vaccination. He says it is a “big relief” for health workers like him as the pandemic rages across the US.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b09c7e80680e0878d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption>Srijana Panta Rokka has been a nurse in the UK for 15 years, and says she is fortunate as a frontline worker to be one of the first in the UK to be vaccinated against Covid-19.</figcaption></figure>Srijana Panta Rokka, has been a nurse in the UK since 2004, and considers herself fortunate for being one of the first recipients of the vaccine. “It was like taking a flu-shot. Others report sore arms, temperature and headache as side effects, but for me I just felt tired and my eyes ached that day,” she recalls.Her General Practice has largely avoided in-contact patients since March, and has moved to tele-medicine, while only taking emergency in-person patients. But from 1 January, she will be serving as a vaccinator, after being trained in administering the Pfizer vaccine.“I was one of the nine nurses in my practice who got vaccinated so we could vaccinate others,” Rokka said in a phone interview. Most patients eligible for vaccination will be above 80 years.There are fears about side-effects and long-term implications of the vaccine, and Rokka has had to counsel fellow Nepalis working in elderly homes in the UK who are eligible for the vaccine, but are reluctant to take it. She thinks information campaigns to assuage people’s fears will have to be a part of vaccination drives.Another Nepali clinician in the United States, Yagya Raj Bhattarai, says the past year has shown that Covid-19 spared no one. “I had a 20-year-old patient who suffered the worst outcomes, including heart failure and anoxic brain injury. Then, I had a 100-year-old who was positive but completely asymptomatic,” said Bhattarai, who self-isolated in a room throughout the period to keep his family safe.Bhattarai’s hospital in North Carolina participated in vaccine trials, and says the efficacy of the first dose is 52%, and it is 95% after the second shot. He experienced mild local pain in his left arm and no other side effects.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b39c7e80680e0878d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="859" height="915"><figcaption>Khagendra Dahal, a clinician in Nebraska, was overwhelmed when he got an email regarding his first vaccination dose.</figcaption></figure>Across the United States in Nebraska, cardiologist Khagendra Dahal recalls long periods of self-isolation and the difficulty explaining to his young children why he was staying separately.“Even after being vaccinated, we will still need to continue to wear our protective gear because it is not known whether we are transmitters of the virus even if we ourselves are safe,” Dahal says.Another country with a sizeable <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali caregiver population is Israel</a>, and it has started a massive vaccine campaign for health workers, those over 60 and at high risk. Nepali caregivers are considered frontline workers.Nischal Shrestha (pictured above) has been living in Israel for the last 11 years, and takes care of a 91-year-old woman who she took to the hospital to vaccinate last week.“I was not expecting to be given the shot because we were told that the priority would be health workers and the elderly. But my employer got the hospital to also get me immunised,” says Shrestha, who says her arm and body ached for a day or two, but she is fine now.Deepika Bhusal also works as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/demand-grows-for-nepali-caregivers-in-israel/">a live-in caregiver</a> for an elderly couple in Israel. Her employers got their first doses of the vaccine on 25 December, and there was much celebration in the house.“I trust the health system here. Even the Prime Minister went on live television to take his first shot publicly,” says Bhusal, who is getting her own shot on new year’s day.“We live in the same house so compared to elderly care institutes or live-out care workers, we were in a much safer position,” Bhusal explains. “But we had to go outdoors often for therapy or exercise, or to shop, so there was always a risk,” she adds.The UAE is another popular destination for Nepali workers, and the first country to approve the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine which is said to be 86% effective after trials around the world. The UAE is providing the vaccines free to residents and citizens.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b69c7e80680e0878d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption>Notice in a UAE newspaper announcing free Covid-19 vaccinations for citizens and residents.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9b89c7e80680e0878d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption>And a UAE Covid-19 vaccination card.</figcaption></figure>Kisan Magar works in a car showroom whose employer got him and his European and Filipino colleagues vaccinated recently. He says he has been getting lots of congratulatory messages from family in Nepal, while compatriots in the UAE have been querying him about how to enrol for the vaccine.Navaraj Ghimire, another UAE-based Nepali who got his first jab says: “We work in security and are exposed to risk, and 33 people in my company have been infected so far." Some of his colleagues, however, refused to be vaccinated because they did not trust it.Back in Nepal, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best-case scenario is for the first vaccinations</a> to start in mid-2021. Health experts say Nepal was late in the game to start ‘vaccine diplomacy’, and there is a fear that even when the vaccines do arrive the poor in remote areas will be the last in the queue.The vaccines that Nepal will acquire will have to be the ones that require less sophisticated cold storage systems which are currently in Phase 3 trials in India and China. Till then and even after being vaccinated, Nepalis have to keep wearing masks, avoid crowds and wash hands.According to Ministry of Health and Population, the Government plans to vaccinate 72% of the country's population, as 28% are below 15 and therefore excluded. An estimated 20% are expected to be vaccinated through the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/">WHO-initiated COVAX facility</a>, while the remaining 52% will be through government-to-government mechanisms.

Nepalis overseas get first vaccinations

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0914b0ad905ca02f01bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1350" height="1565"/><figcaption>Nischal Shrestha, a caregiver in Israel, getting vaccinated last week.</figcaption></figure>Long before Nepalis in Nepal will be vaccinated against the coronavirus, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/overseas-nepalis-on-the-covid-19-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali frontline workers around the world</a> are already receiving their first jabs.The most optimistic prediction for a vaccine to arrive in Nepal is mid-2021, but with countries around the world prioritising medical workers, many Nepalis who work in the healthcare sector overseas are starting to get vaccinated.The globalisation of the Nepali workforce became even more apparent during the pandemic: a Nepali doctor in the UK could be using medical gloves <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/global-glove-makers-compensate-nepali-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made by Nepali workers in a Malaysian glove factory</a> while vaccinating a Nepali nurse.“We always knew healthcare workers would be in the priority group, but the general understanding was it would still be a few months into 2021 that the vaccines would reach us,” said Binaya Raman Dahal, a Nepali hospitalist in North Carolina who got his first injection last week, and said it was like taking any other flu shot.Dahal recalls how his colleagues would fall ill, and hospital staff had to step in even during off days. The first couple of months into the pandemic, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">personal protective equipment</a> ran out, and there was a rush of patients following the July 4 and Labour Day weekends.“There is a big sense of relief that the vaccines are here,” Dahal said over the phone, adding that he will still have to careful because of the risk to family.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0944b0ad905ca02f01cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0964b0ad905ca02f01djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="686" height="915"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Srijana Panta Rokka, has been a nurse in the UK since 2004, and considers herself fortunate for being one of the first recipients of the vaccine. “It was like taking a flu-shot. Others report sore arms, temperature and headache as side effects, but for me I just felt tired and my eyes ached that day,” she recalls.Her General Practice has largely avoided in-contact patients since March, and has moved to tele-medicine, while only taking emergency in-person patients. But from 1 January, she will be serving as a vaccinator, after being trained in administering the Pfizer vaccine.“I was one of the nine nurses in my practice who got vaccinated so we could vaccinate others,” Rokka said in a phone interview. Most patients eligible for vaccination will be above 80 years.There are fears about side-effects and long-term implications of the vaccine, and Rokka has had to counsel fellow Nepalis working in elderly homes in the UK who are eligible for the vaccine, but are reluctant to take it. She thinks information campaigns to assuage people’s fears will have to be a part of vaccination drives.Another Nepali clinician in the United States, Yagya Raj Bhattarai, says the past year has shown that Covid-19 spared no one. “I had a 20-year-old patient who suffered the worst outcomes, including heart failure and anoxic brain injury. Then, I had a 100-year-old who was positive but completely asymptomatic,” said Bhattarai, who self-isolated in a room throughout the period to keep his family safe.Bhattarai’s hospital in North Carolina participated in vaccine trials, and says the efficacy of the first dose is 52%, and it is 95% after the second shot. He experienced mild local pain in his left arm and no other side effects.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0984b0ad905ca02f01ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="859" height="915"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Across the United States in Nebraska, cardiologist Khagendra Dahal recalls long periods of self-isolation and the difficulty explaining to his young children why he was staying separately.“Even after being vaccinated, we will still need to continue to wear our protective gear because it is not known whether we are transmitters of the virus even if we ourselves are safe,” Dahal says.Another country with a sizeable <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepali-caregivers-in-israel,3809" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali caregiver population is Israel</a>, and it has started a massive vaccine campaign for health workers, those over 60 and at high risk. Nepali caregivers are considered frontline workers.Nischal Shrestha (pictured above) has been living in Israel for the last 11 years, and takes care of a 91-year-old woman who she took to the hospital to vaccinate last week.“I was not expecting to be given the shot because we were told that the priority would be health workers and the elderly. But my employer got the hospital to also get me immunised,” says Shrestha, who says her arm and body ached for a day or two, but she is fine now.Deepika Bhusal also works as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/demand-grows-for-nepali-caregivers-in-israel/">a live-in caregiver</a> for an elderly couple in Israel. Her employers got their first doses of the vaccine on 25 December, and there was much celebration in the house.“I trust the health system here. Even the Prime Minister went on live television to take his first shot publicly,” says Bhusal, who is getting her own shot on new year’s day.“We live in the same house so compared to elderly care institutes or live-out care workers, we were in a much safer position,” Bhusal explains. “But we had to go outdoors often for therapy or exercise, or to shop, so there was always a risk,” she adds.The UAE is another popular destination for Nepali workers, and the first country to approve the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine which is said to be 86% effective after trials around the world. The UAE is providing the vaccines free to residents and citizens.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf09b4b0ad905ca02f01fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf09e4b0ad905ca02f020jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kisan Magar works in a car showroom whose employer got him and his European and Filipino colleagues vaccinated recently. He says he has been getting lots of congratulatory messages from family in Nepal, while compatriots in the UAE have been querying him about how to enrol for the vaccine.Navaraj Ghimire, another UAE-based Nepali who got his first jab says: “We work in security and are exposed to risk, and 33 people in my company have been infected so far." Some of his colleagues, however, refused to be vaccinated because they did not trust it.Back in Nepal, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best-case scenario is for the first vaccinations</a> to start in mid-2021. Health experts say Nepal was late in the game to start ‘vaccine diplomacy’, and there is a fear that even when the vaccines do arrive the poor in remote areas will be the last in the queue.The vaccines that Nepal will acquire will have to be the ones that require less sophisticated cold storage systems which are currently in Phase 3 trials in India and China. Till then and even after being vaccinated, Nepalis have to keep wearing masks, avoid crowds and wash hands.According to Ministry of Health and Population, the Government plans to vaccinate 72% of the country's population, as 28% are below 15 and therefore excluded. An estimated 20% are expected to be vaccinated through the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/">WHO-initiated COVAX facility</a>, while the remaining 52% will be through government-to-government mechanisms.

This is the 91st episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. I have still not come to terms with the reality that my daughter Ruby Thakur is now the Deputy Speaker of Nepal’s Parliament. Sometimes, when I am walking, the thought hits me, and I cannot believe it.&nbsp; Things changed for my daughter in a very short time. I had dreamt that the best my daughter could achieve was a good engineering job. Fate had bigger plans for her. She is no longer just my daughter, she is the nation’s daughter. Nepal’s daughter.&nbsp; My children’s education was always my foremost priority. That is the main reason I went overseas for employment. I realised the value of education while working in Saudi Arabia. In my office, colleagues with good education earn $8,000 per month working on computers. Those with low education toil outdoors in the heat for much lower wages. A good education or skills can change everything. I am in Nepal on vacation and will soon return to my job. Ruby is all set now. But I still have to take care of my other children's education. As the eldest son, I myself never got a chance to prioritise my own education. I dropped out in Grade 7 because I had to take care of my ageing parents and younger siblings. I have done all kinds of jobs. I worked in a landlord’s field for a share of the harvest. Even now my wife and I farm for the land owner and have to give away half of what we grow.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120444_051b61e01a5189af538aa1e011acd3e2b38d5f42825116b2afd325d93d0c519b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260413120444_051b61e01a5189af538aa1e011acd3e2b38d5f42825116b2afd325d93d0c519b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> <figcaption>Sogarath Thakur during a break in Nepal with wife tending to his farm.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120448_8a1c3ac3fd559026bc6f981cc8dc82cb8ad09a3a4f55fb9f6f7fd5f49c3d5571.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260413120448_8a1c3ac3fd559026bc6f981cc8dc82cb8ad09a3a4f55fb9f6f7fd5f49c3d5571" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>  Then I worked as a barber, my family’s line of occupation. I went door to door cutting people’s hair and later worked in a relative’s saloon. Hairstyles were simple back then, and I got to keep half the fee. I also worked in a brick factory where I was paid weekly. &nbsp; I married when I was 16, and my wife was a year younger. As my family and responsibilities grew, I had to migrate leaving behind my three children including Ruby who was just three months old.&nbsp; I went to Qatar where I continued working as a barber. It was a large saloon and the standards for cleanliness and professionalism were higher. I had to hand over 70% of my daily earnings to the employer. I had to rely on my colleague to translate what the customer wanted. But I slowly became fluent in Arabic. I used to jot down words in Nepali and Arabic and memorise them. In Qatar, customers even came at night for haircuts, and people stayed up late. I would work till 3AM.&nbsp; Communicating with my family was one-way. I would go to Bismillah and ask someone to type out questions to my family about their whereabouts, how the harvest was that season. I would offer very little information about my life in Qatar because it was not easy. What was the point of getting them all worried? What could they do? I never received a letter in return, so throughout my time in Qatar, I never knew how my family was faring. When I appeared in the village after five years without any advance notice, it was a bittersweet reunion, and I had no gifts. I still remember how unfamiliar my village felt when I came home after so many years. I had to ask for directions. When I came home, Ruby was already in school. I had left her in my wife’s arms five years prior. I missed her growing up, and did not even see her pictures. My wife had to introduce her to me as her father. But it took just 15 minutes for her to warm up to me.&nbsp; The Arabic skills I had picked up in Qatar came in handy when I remigrated two years later to Saudi Arabia. I worked as a labourer in the desert heat, but once my company found out I spoke Arabic, I was hired for an indoor job as an office boy. The struggle in Qatar had paid off. I worked in an air conditioned office serving tea or coffee, doing bank runs or getting documents signed and photocopied. I have worked in the same company for the past 20 years, sending money home.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120448_f083fa873a6d77b19c8b0bdde623415c643a151fb550c57ff4e52b3c2431355f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260413120448_f083fa873a6d77b19c8b0bdde623415c643a151fb550c57ff4e52b3c2431355f" data-rendition-name="original" width="5712" height="3213" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120452_5ccd9a01ee05ce26b71381725108215d0f0d3806508b0cb482aabcfea09bbaef.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260413120452_5ccd9a01ee05ce26b71381725108215d0f0d3806508b0cb482aabcfea09bbaef" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>  My wife is not just my children’s guardian, but also mine throughout the two decades I was away. I trust her with all my earnings, and she manages our household finances well. She makes sure that the children’s school fees and other expenses are paid on time. These days, with video calls, things have become much easier for me to stay in touch with home.&nbsp; When Ruby told me she wanted to do an engineering diploma, I was happy. Later, her friends inspired her to join politics so she started getting involved with Shram Sanskriti Party. I first found out she got the proportional representation nomination through social media while on my work duty in Saudi Arabia. I was so excited, but even more so when she was elected Deputy Speaker. I was back home in Dhanusha on my vacation at the time.&nbsp; We are overjoyed and waiting for her to come back to the village for a visit when she gets a chance so we can celebrate properly with everyone. I plan to go back to Saudi Arabia as originally planned, I have a good job and will work for maybe five more years. Ruby has taken 75% of the load off my back. She can help take care of her siblings.&nbsp; I sleep at 8PM every day and wake up at 5AM to exercise before my day in Saudi Arabia begins – I have stuck to the same routine for the last two decades and it has worked well for me and my health. I have a good rapport with my boss who is an Egyptian. My requests to resign have often been met with counter-offers to stay on. My honesty and hard work have won me the company's trust. I will go back and resume working as I have, despite my daughter’s huge achievements. I am still a farmer’s son, a simple man who has to fulfil his family responsibilities. My colleagues in Saudi Arabia are aware that Ruby is Deputy Speaker in Nepal’s Parliament, they are all happy for me and have congratulated me. This time, when I go back, I have promised them that I will throw a bakhri party to celebrate my daughter’s achievement.

The nation’s daughter

At 6 feet and one inch, Hira Bahadur Ghalan was exceptionally tall for a Nepali. In 1936, when people came to his Tamang village near Tistung looking for porters, they recruited him on the spot. This was no ordinary job, Hira Bahadur would lead gangs of 30 or more porters to carry cars bought by Rana rulers from Bhimphedi to Kathmandu.&nbsp; Those were the days when the only motorable roads in Nepal were in Kathmandu, but the capital was not connected to anywhere else by road. So, before cars could carry people, people had to carry cars. More Nepalis had carried cars than ridden in one. The porters were paid Rs5 for the job, and sometimes the Rana owners gave Hira Bahadur a Rs25 baksheesh. One of the cars his community helped carry was a 1939 Daimler Benz gifted by Adolf Hitler to King Tribhuvan to woo Nepal away from the British. The rusted dusty vehicle is now in the Narayanhiti Palace Museum.&nbsp; Hira Bahadur hauled cars for 25 years until his knees gave way, he died at age 90 eight years ago — the last surviving car porters of Nepal from Chitlang Valley.&nbsp; Hira Bahadur Ghalan had three sons and three daughters, one of them is Maila Kaji Lama, who at age 68, is a chauffeur in Kathmandu. His son, Manjil Lama is a pilot with Summit Air, flying to remote Himalayan airstrips. Three generations of one family worked in professions that followed a century of transportation history in Nepal. &nbsp; After the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-long-and-winding-road-to-india">Tribhuvan Rajpath was finished in 1957</a> and the ropeway upgraded, Hira Bahadur was out of a job. He tilled the family farm, watching trucks and buses headed to and from Kathmandu on the hairpins.&nbsp; As a child, Maila Kaji was fascinated by cars and wished one day to be able to drive one. After he failed Grade 8, he came to Kathmandu in 1975 and got a Rs20/month job at a petrol station in Maiti Devi. “I watched King Birendra’s coronation and was impressed by the glamour of Kathmandu, and decided to stay here,” Maila Kaji says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041816040_a1a41e47dec8500727702f700e43af625f059043cbcd283f13b247344b3a20aa.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026041816040_a1a41e47dec8500727702f700e43af625f059043cbcd283f13b247344b3a20aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1974" height="1608" loading="lazy" alt="car carriers"> <figcaption>Maila Kaji</figcaption> </figure>  Former minister Ramesh Nath Pandey used to bring his Volkswagen Beetle to the station, and Maila Kaji started taking care of his car. Later, he drove a Russian Jeep for former minister and geographer Harka Gurung. Along the way, he fell in love with the daughter of a Brahmin colleague, and married her. “My father back in Tistung did not approve of our inter-ethnic marriage, and not speak to me for five years,” Maila Kaji recalls. Manjil Lama grew up in Kathmandu, and did well in science in school. He had wanted to go the US to become a pilot like his friends, but was denied a visa.&nbsp; “The visa officer told him I did not earn enough,” says Maila Kaji, “so I sold some property and sent Manjil to flying school in the Philippines.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041816040_e9091162840baa6d182de2d7cc6f09e43ec9cfd9a9b6e71e7e7b14bc72da3537.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026041816040_e9091162840baa6d182de2d7cc6f09e43ec9cfd9a9b6e71e7e7b14bc72da3537" data-rendition-name="original" width="1434" height="1754" loading="lazy" alt="car carriers"> <figcaption>Manjil Lama</figcaption> </figure>  After returning to Nepal, Manjil Lama now flies Let 410s of Summit Air to difficult air strips like Lukla and Simkot, and has logged over 2,000 hours. He has to go to the Czech Republic regularly for simulator training. Says Maila Kaji Lama: “My father worked hard carrying cars to raise us, I started from scratch to become a driver to support my family, and my son is now a pilot with experience in flying in the world’s toughest terrain.” &nbsp; Watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvT3iTi8yw4" target="_blank">video clip from S Dillon Ripley here</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260419020448_40f8b1bdaace08106ca5c24819b6e7a34fb2109a9a3ec5c6ac179b3309e686ed.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260419020448_40f8b1bdaace08106ca5c24819b6e7a34fb2109a9a3ec5c6ac179b3309e686ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="1582" loading="lazy" alt="car carriers"> </figure>

Grandfather carried cars, son drives cars, grandson flies planes

Nepalis are insured but not covered

Only 70 years ago, Kathmandu was the isolated capital of a country that had no modern surface transport link with the rest of the world.&nbsp; The idea of building a road to connect Nepal with India actually first came up during the last years of the Rana regime, after the British had left India. Construction actually began in 1952, and the serpentine route took five years to complete.&nbsp; Named Tribhuvan Rajpath, after the reigning king who initiated it, the alignment was from Thankot (1,301 m) at the western edge of the Kathmandu Valley to Nagdunga, Naubise, Tistung, Palung, Daman, Sim Bhanjyang (2,504m), Lamidanda, and Bhainse.&nbsp; At Bhainse, the highway joined the existing road to Bhimphedi and it was another 31km to Hetauda and Amlekhganj. There was a railway line between Amlekhganj and Birganj.&nbsp; After regular bus and truck service from Raxaul to Kathmandu began in 1961, the entire road popularly became known as the Tribhuvan Rajpath.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_a11b48a75c7877a0f68634f8be07d26a3f354e78ebd9adddc7d17252fddf1d1b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041610044_a11b48a75c7877a0f68634f8be07d26a3f354e78ebd9adddc7d17252fddf1d1b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>The village of Chitlang on the main route to Kathmandu before the Rajpath was built. In the distance is the Chandragiri ridge above Thankot. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  <h2>Chronology&nbsp;</h2> (Based on US State Department cables and media reports) November 1945: Gen Bahadur SJB Rana asked an American official if a road could be constructed from the Indian border to Kathmandu. Nepal wanted such a road built across the mountains after first constructing an East-West artery road in the Tarai, and the government was interested in purchasing US surplus war equipment. Gen Rana inquired if there were US firms who could conduct a survey. April 1947: The Nepal government told a US official it was important to upgrade the 20-mile trail from Bhimphedi over the mountains to the Kathmandu Valley into an all-weather road and sought an estimate from the US for doing so. May 1948: Bijaya SJB Rana informed a US official that a survey for a one-lane motor road between Kathmandu and the Tarai had been completed. The road was to follow the Bagmati River to Makwanpur, then connect at Bhimphedi with the road to Amlekhgunj. The road from Tripureswor to Bhainse along the Bagmati River and via Bhimphedi would have been about 60km. (The distance from Kathmandu on the Tribhuvan Rajpath is 122 km.)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_bb531baf5d73e00d2032814ac8abb86979a87d781abc066fcb984997aad930e6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026041610044_bb531baf5d73e00d2032814ac8abb86979a87d781abc066fcb984997aad930e6" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>The road climbing the hills toward its destination of Kathmandu. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  July 1948: The government decided to go ahead and build a motorable road from Amlekhganj to Thankot and complete it in two years. December 1948: Construction of the motor road from Kathmandu to Amlekhgunj via the Bagmati River corridor was started. April 1949: Gen Singha SJB Rana told a US official that the motor road from Kathmandu to the Tarai and the Indo-Nepal border would be completed by the spring of 1950. February 1950: Nepal sanctioned Rs300,000 to make the 6-foot-wide road from Kathmandu along the Bagmati River to Hetauda. Of this, Rs100,000 was allocated for road-building material and machinery. Subsequently, the road would be developed into a broader motorable road at a cost of Rs7.5 million. February 1952: Nepal’s budget speech noted that a plan was underway for a road between Bhainse and Kathmandu. PM Matrika Prasad Koirala laid a foundation stone near Teku for construction of the ‘Kathmandu Hetauda Roadway’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_e66d3b81848ec19da48be8b41cacfa8b8e2bad093719b39eda27755c9616ea9a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026041610044_e66d3b81848ec19da48be8b41cacfa8b8e2bad093719b39eda27755c9616ea9a" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Rajpath winding its way north of Bhainse. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  February 1952: A party of Indian engineers came to Nepal to determine the best route for a road from Raxaul to Kathmandu. March 1952: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told Parliament: “So far as India’s security is concerned, we consider the Himalayan mountains as our border.” Ministry of External Affairs official (S.N. Hakar) told a US official that the Indian government was willing to proceed with constructing the Raxaul-Kathmandu road and had sent a survey party to determine the most suitable mountain route. May 1952: Swiss experts had made surveys for a proposed new road between Bhimphedi and Thankot. Nepal government requested financial help to build the road, and India was considering the project.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_35e390c1a4812f45af7892d681230e04c63727d9006b6614ed79aaa7c22c1ece.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2026041610044_35e390c1a4812f45af7892d681230e04c63727d9006b6614ed79aaa7c22c1ece" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>With a constant stream of trucks, buses and jeeps, the narrow Rajpath once was Nepal's busiest highway. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  Summer 1952: Work on a new road was at a standstill, so Nepal asked India for assistance. Indian engineers surveyed two routes: one following the Bagmati River, the other road through Daman that was later adopted. July 1952: Nepal’s Ministry of Planning decided to construct a road between Kathmandu and Raxaul, awaiting Cabinet approval soon. Prime Minister Matrika Koirala said the proposed road was longer than necessary, but it was a better route ‘for strategic reasons’, because it did not require many bridges. August 1952: King Tribhuvan said road construction from Kathmandu to Bhimphedi would “begin soon”. September 1952: An Indian Military Team began construction of the Kathmandu-Bhainse road without a formal agreement being signed with the Nepal government.&nbsp; February 1953: The Indian Ambassador said the road would be hard surfaced within a year. September 1953: Prime Minister Matrika Koirala inspected the completion of a ‘jeepable track’. December 1953: The road was named ‘Tribhuvan Rajpath’. April 1954: Reports circulated that Swiss engineers criticised the alignment, arguing it would have been easier, faster, and cheaper to build over the existing foot trail between Bhimphedi and Thankot through Kulekhani. July 1954: Heavy monsoon rain damaged much of the roadway that had been built.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_b5b2a1833f1366e532f1629f47c124d877df7b6f8a34b6c83f6c21ec3e4415dd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026041610044_b5b2a1833f1366e532f1629f47c124d877df7b6f8a34b6c83f6c21ec3e4415dd" data-rendition-name="original" width="855" height="1123" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Crown Prince Mahendra inspecting construction progress on the Tribhuvan Rajpath in October 1954. Photo: ROYAL PALACE</figcaption> </figure>  November 1954: The Indian ambassador said flood damage was so great that the road would be delayed by two years. May 1955: Twenty military trucks brought rice from Amlekhganj to Kathmandu on the Tribhuvan Rajpath. King Tribhuvan died in Zurich. December 1956: A gravel road was completed, with trucks and buses plying between Amlekhganj and Kathmandu. December 1956: Nepal government abolished regulations that required Nepali nationals to carry permits for travel within Nepal, except for women below the age of 45. 1957: Reduction in price of goods carried to Kathmandu by truck: Sugar, Rs0.13 per kg. Wheat flour Rs0.13 per kg. Kerosene Rs0.25 per litre. February 1957: An article in The Motherland newspaper in Kathmandu noted urgent action was needed to avoid Kathmandu being cut off from the Tarai during the monsoon. The correspondent wrote, ‘In a recent journey from Amlekhganj I found that almost all the bridges are in a very bad state…Now, because of the dry rivers the scores of vehicles that ply the road cross the rivers on the water level. But during monsoons… these rivers will be impossible to cross without bridges. On the road itself, landslides and big holes have made the journey a great undertaking.” April 1957: The first regular passenger bus left Amlekhganj at 12:30PM and arrived in Kathmandu completing a journey of 14 hours.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_60807e067f2d0b80bdc5e59860e9bc240b495ef606efc9301ef54ea5731d42df.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2026041610044_60807e067f2d0b80bdc5e59860e9bc240b495ef606efc9301ef54ea5731d42df" data-rendition-name="original" width="5211" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Daman, one of the highest points on the Rajpath, often saw snow in winter. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_baac4747267c751ab7b0e5ef24697fb5001c4c55e04a82d92c89282bd01a325c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2026041610044_baac4747267c751ab7b0e5ef24697fb5001c4c55e04a82d92c89282bd01a325c" data-rendition-name="original" width="648" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Travelers could view the Himalayas from a view tower at Daman. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  June 1957: Eight thousand Nepali workers and about 500 Indian Army personnel were at work on the road.&nbsp; 30 June 1957: India officially handed the road over to Nepal. India had spent INR32.5 million on the project.&nbsp; January 1958: The road from Amlekhganj to Bhainse was upgraded. July 1961: The gravel road from Raxaul to Birganj was blacktopped. Trucks began transporting goods from Raxaul directly to Kathmandu, avoiding the need for transshipment from train to truck in Amlekhganj, or use the ropeway from Bhimphedi. 1961: Passengers could travel from Raxaul to Kathmandu in a day, whereas it took a week by train to Amlekhganj, bus to Bhimphedi and then on foot. September 1962: Nepal’s 3-Year Plan aimed at broadening and black-topping the road between Bhainse and Raxaul, bypassing the Chure tunnel, and constructing several bridges along the route. 1963: Travelers going to Kathmandu by land: Road, 158,000, Nepal Government Railway, 66,500. Railway passenger service ended in June 1965.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_2a95eb144dad74271a0fa3a27fab6b45bbab0a1c4be59d21120ad14c08e258fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2026041610044_2a95eb144dad74271a0fa3a27fab6b45bbab0a1c4be59d21120ad14c08e258fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1344" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>A bus providing ‘deluxe service’ in 1963 is ready to leave Amlekhganj for Kathmandu. Note the railway tracks of the Nepal Government Railway. Photo: RON ELLIOTT</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_d02013692e84d6add7a6e0ce66c2b552cd53bb084db2aa8df0593bbcf84c2c04.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2026041610044_d02013692e84d6add7a6e0ce66c2b552cd53bb084db2aa8df0593bbcf84c2c04" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1352" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Vehicles found it difficult to pass on many parts of the Rajpath in 1963. Photo: RON ELLIOTT</figcaption> </figure>  1965: Tribhuvan Highway was considered a useful addition to Nepal’s economic infrastructure, but it could not act as a prime mover in the nation’s economic development. It did play a major role in the 1960s in transporting material and equipment needed to implement development projects in the Kathmandu Valley. September 1966: Nepal took over maintenance of the Tribhuvan Rajpath from the Indian Aid Mission.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_5488ba1e92f6395ff882392ccbaef2270622632682eccb412d8de7b128f6f397.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2026041610044_5488ba1e92f6395ff882392ccbaef2270622632682eccb412d8de7b128f6f397" data-rendition-name="original" width="1764" height="1184" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Trees still lined the Rajpath near Thankot in 1967. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  1971: A UN-Nepal study said the best alignment for an alternative road was from Kathmandu, Pharping, Kulekhani, Bhimphedi to Bhainse. 1975: Nepal's Department of Roads’ engineer concluded: ‘The Tribhuvan Rajpath has been built without design speed consideration… The pavement was not constructed to any designed standard… irrespective of quality of material, and later the road was black topped without consideration of traffic intensity and load-bearing capacity of sub-base… utilisation of low-quality material in the Bhainse-Thankot section… Quality control was neither maintained in Bhainse-Thankot nor the Bhainse-Raxaul section. Local materials were used irrespective of their quality to complete the work in the earliest possible time and in the cheapest possible manner. Brick work was done in negligible quantity. Cement used was ordinary portland cement…’ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_26c74f45991efb3dc29d616e8acafb3163661ae6573c5314538e59c54d5ca0a5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2026041610044_26c74f45991efb3dc29d616e8acafb3163661ae6573c5314538e59c54d5ca0a5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2368" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Bhainse in 2017. The road divided here, one going to Bhimphedi on the right, the main road proceeding to Kathmandu on the left. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260416100416_4d9321abf4d912796842fe963a493501e1aceff462300ecdd9bd5e0b8ba7f294.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20260416100416_4d9321abf4d912796842fe963a493501e1aceff462300ecdd9bd5e0b8ba7f294" data-rendition-name="original" width="649" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Highway info NT"> </figure>  Even 70 years after it was built, there is still speculation about India's security concerns vis-a-vis China, and how Indian Army engineers purposely made the road longer than it needed to be over the 2,500 Sim Bhanjyang pass instead of following the river route.&nbsp; There is also some evidence that although the Rana regime had first requested the US for help with the highway, Nehru did not want the Americans involved in Nepal. Which is why the Tribhuvan Highway became an Indian military project.&nbsp; There was similar concern from India about the Kodari Highway linking Kathmandu to China, and King Mahednra is famously supposed to have said: "Communism will not come here in a taxi."&nbsp; Geopolitics still affects Nepal's strategic highways. After decades, links to China are still rough and often blocked. Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track is delayed by years, and not expected to be completed during this decade. Trucks and buses still bypass the Tribuvan Highway with a 200km detour via Mugling because the other alternative routes like the Tika Bhairav or Chhaimale routes are not suitable for heavy vehicles.&nbsp; The shortcut through Chitlang that the Swiss proposed in the 1950s is still too difficult. And a 25km section of the Japanese-built BP Highway to the eastern Tarai has been knocked out by the 202 flood. Dan Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal. This is the fourth instalment in a new limited series in Nepali Times on the historic transportation infrastructures of Nepal.

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