The Thamel area of Nepal's capital Kathmandu is known for its nightlife, but the rest of Kathmandu goes to sleep by 10 p.m.
As the night wears on, Thamel gets louder with live music and a dance bar. The entire Thamel is drowned in the noise of alcohol and popular music.
Hindi and Punjabi songs are also very popular in the dance bars here.
However, does the never-ending trend seem to be stopping now? It's almost 11pm on a Thursday night and the streets are empty.
Most shops are closed and there are many bars with locked doors.
There is loud music inside a few bars but there are very few people who are here.
Upon entering the bar, several girls can be seen welcoming together and it feels like there are more hosts than guests.
Asked the guard standing at the gate of a pub, whether the noise of Thamel is decreasing?
In response, he said that if the night gets longer, the excitement will increase, but things have changed a lot after Kovid. The hustle and bustle of Thamel is now half over.
Half the upheaval has been engulfed in economic recession. Few foreigners are seen on the streets these days. The brilliance of the present has definitely faded in front of the brilliance of the past.
Even if you go to any normal bar here, a beer costs at least 1100 Nepalese rupees.
But it's not just about Thamel. Entire Nepal is under inflation.
Indians who come to Nepal have the idea that 100 Indian rupees will be 160 rupees there. But coming here one realizes what the extra Rs 60 is worth.
Inflation is not limited to Thamel. All kitchen items have become expensive. The prices of dal, oil, flour and rice (per kg) have increased by Rs 30 to Rs 90 compared to last year.
People fighting compulsions:
On Tuesday this week, a 36-year-old man named Prem Prasad Acharya set himself on fire outside Nepal's parliament.
Prem Prasad had written a post on Facebook before committing suicide and said in it, "He is broke due to business failure and unemployment, so he has decided to commit suicide."
A leader of the student wing of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center) of Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachand said on this self-immolation: 'Perhaps Prem Prasad Acharya must have felt that people in Nepal were angry after his self-immolation. and will ask questions to the authority. But Prem Prasad did not know that the living are also dead. Everything is normal after self-immolation. It shows that we are living dead.
If you arrive at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 8pm, it looks as crowded as Delhi's railway station.
Many flights depart from Kathmandu after 8 pm to Gulf countries.
In the last 20 years, a large number of Nepalis have gone to work in Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries and this trend is not stopping.
Near the east gate of the US Embassy in Kathmandu is a foreign employment consultancy called Sky Overseas Service.
At least 50 people are submitting documents to get their visas and go to Gulf countries for jobs.
Trying to go abroad:
Kapil Vastu's Shabu Baig has come here to get a visa for Saudi Arabia. Before covid he was working in a construction company there.
He had to return due to the covid epidemic. They are preparing to go to Saudi Arabia again.
Shabu Baig was asked that Saudi Arabia feels like a heart? His answer was: "Where there is work, there will be heart." But it is not easy to stay away from wife and children.
Ganesh Gurung, a former member of the Nepal Planning Commission, runs an institute in Kathmandu called the Nepal Institute of Development Studies.
This institute works on the issue of migration from Nepal. Ganesh Gurung has done a lot of research on migration from Nepal to foreign countries.
“Their earnings are the lifeline for Nepal's economy Said By Ganesh Gurung. The earnings of these Nepalese are 28 percent of the country's GDP. Agriculture accounts for only 25 percent of Nepal's GDP, while tourism contributes only six to seven percent. A total of 40 lakh people of Nepal are working abroad and this does not include people working in India.
Importance and risks of remittances for Nepal:
Says Ganesh Gurung: "We see this migration as important for the economy, but in the long run it will prove fatal for Nepal." This is not a sustainable solution. Outside earnings cannot sustain us for long. We fear that we may not become like Sri Lanka.
If foreign money stops coming to Nepal, the economy here will collapse. It will not take long to become like Sri Lanka. The fear of falling into the abyss from the edge on which Nepal is standing is very high.
In such a situation, it is difficult to imagine the situation in Nepal. If remittances stop, Nepal will be financially wiped out.
Ganesh Gurung says that the arrival of remittances is good but relying on them is very dangerous.
Eight million people from India work in the Gulf countries and they remitted earnings of around $70 billion last year.
While Nepalese remitted $8.5 billion from abroad last year, Nepal runs on the same income throughout the year. Apart from this, there is no other source of foreign exchange.
Status of Nepalis abroad:
Met Krishna Gayavali of Nawalparasi in Nepal at Tribhuvan Airport. He was going to Dubai. Before Covid, Krishna worked in a travel agency. After covid, his agency was closed. Krishna remained unemployed for two years. Once again he has found work in Dubai.
Asked about Dubai, Krishna said: “Dubai has become a hub for international business, but there is a lot of difference. Some people are making a lot of money, but those working as laborers are being exploited.
It is said that there is no crime there. The police are very strict, but if you are being exploited, it is not a crime for the police. Your boss can make you do whatever he wants you to do. Giving money can be arbitrary. Can also kill. But if you go to the police to complain, no one will listen to you.'
Says Krishna Gayawali: “Dubai's only religion is making money. Whether this money is earned by selling liquor or through exploitation. Dubai has now become so liberal that alcohol and exploitation are part of the reformation, not evil. It is fine for the Nepalis doing white-collar jobs here, but there is immense exploitation in blue-collar jobs.
According to the labor migration report of the government of Nepal, around 8000 Nepalese laborers have died in the Gulf countries since 2008.
Between 2018 and 2019, 750 Nepali workers have died in the Gulf countries. There is no accounting of laborers who go illegally or through India.
The report states that Nepalese laborers do not get adequate food and water. More work is done than the prescribed hours due to which many kinds of diseases surround them.
About 14 percent of Nepal's population, or about 4 million people, work abroad. Nepali economist Hari Roka says that Nepalis working abroad are the backbone of the economy here.
According to the World Bank report, in the year 2022, Nepalese remitted 8.5 billion dollars after earning from abroad. In 2021 it was $8.2 billion.
Labors exported from Nepal
Nepal is identified as an agricultural country and tea leaves were exported from here in addition to many types of medical products.
But Nepal is now exporting labour. Until 1990, Nepal had a full monarchy. In such a situation, most of the Nepalis were not allowed to go to other countries except India.
At the same time, oil opened the way for growth in the Gulf countries where there was a severe labor shortage. As such, it was like an opportunity for the people of Nepal.
In 1996, a decade-long violent Maoist insurgency began in Nepal. In the year 2021, 620 thousand Nepali workers went to Gulf countries.
Nirbahadar Thapa, former executive director of the National Bank of Nepal, says: "If there is a situation in the Gulf countries where Nepali workers have to return, Nepal will be financially bankrupt."
Nepal's economy is barely $40 billion. Indians earn three times more than that and send it abroad. Nepal's trade deficit in 2021-22 has increased to 1,720 billion rupees (Nepali).
He added: 'Nepal's trade with India is 63.9%. That is why the deficit is the highest with India. Nepal's trade deficit with India is Rs 1044 billion annually.
Nepal's current account deficit averages Rs 623 billion and is 12.8 percent of GDP. We only hope that no negative situation arises in the Gulf countries and Nepali workers continue to work.
Nepal currently has foreign exchange reserves of $9.18 billion, which is enough for 10 months. But it's starting to fade. The manufacturing sector in Nepal has been destroyed. There are no jobs left. Agriculture is not being modernized.
In such a situation, only the Gulf countries and Malaysia are supporting Nepal. Nepalis who do not find work abroad go to India.
The Gulf region is the largest concentration of migrant workers in the Global South. In the 1970s, there were only 2 million migrant workers in the Gulf countries, which has increased to 29 million by 2018.
Nepal's dependence on India:
The share of immigrants in the total population of 5.6 million Gulf countries has increased to 51 percent. From here, foreign workers earn 108 billion dollars every year and send it to their home countries. About 8 million Indians also work in the Gulf countries.
Hari Roka says: 'Nepalis are forced to leave the country to work in the Gulf countries due to poverty. In Nepal, consumption is falling due to poverty and unemployment. India's trade deficit was 485 billion rupees. It has decreased by 20 percent.
But we don't have money, so we can't buy from India. We are forced to live a life of poverty. Nepal is in the grip of recession. Our income is decreasing. We have no money for food.
Hari Roka adds: 'It is alarming that not only are we in recession, but our dependence on India has also increased. Earlier we used to buy oil directly from Saudi Arabia and Iran too, but now we buy all oil from India only. If India ever blockades, we will be in trouble again.
Economists here say that no one can save Nepal from falling into the abyss.
Swaranam Wagle, the former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission in Nepal, says that 'currently 14 percent of Nepal's population is working abroad and it will increase in the future, but this shows the plight of Nepal. .'
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