Last October 18, on the day of Tihar, the immigration office at Belhia in Rupandehi was crowded with tourists from third countries. The immigration office complex could not handle the crowd of more than 800 tourists to get arrival visa for Nepal and about 700 to depart from Nepal.

Immigration staff were busy since morning to serve the tourists who stood in line all day long with passports and other documents in hand. The line of tourists who had been standing in line for seven to eight hours started to get crowded and crowded. The gate of the immigration office was broken when the line of tourists got out of control. The glass of other windows also broke. 

Even since then, the line of tourists has been at the immigration office every day. Tourists are in trouble after having to stand in line for at least four to five hours for visa and departure. Tour guides, bus drivers, hotel and taxi operators who have come to pick up tourists shout and shout in the office premises saying that the service is not fast. Hustle happens every day.  Narayan Prasad Pandey, Head of Immigration Office Belhia, says that there is a lack of manpower (staff) available in the office compared to the number of tourists who come to take the service and this kind of problem occurs when many tourists arrive at the same time. There is a shortage of manpower in the office. When many tourists come at once, tourists are forced to stand in line for a long time," said Pandey, adding, "Tourists coming to Nepal through Sunauli/Belhia crossing have increased. But the office does not have the appropriate manpower.'

Sometimes more than 1500 tourists arrive in one day. The office has only five employees including the chief. One employee has to serve up to 14 hours a day. Services are provided from four desks. When visa is issued to a tourist who has completed all the procedures, the service is available in 1 minute per head and about half a minute for departure.

 'If three more employees were available, this problem would be solved immediately,' Pandey said, 'We have been requesting this from the department and the ministry repeatedly.' yes Before Covid, the number of tourists passing through this office from Sunauli/Bhairawa crossing exceeded 3 lakh annually. During the period of Covid, the traffic of tourists was almost zero, but the traffic of tourists is increasing after the Covid. 

By November 2024, the number of tourists from third countries coming to Nepal through this border is more than 83 thousand. The number of departures is about 82 thousand. In order to increase the arrival of tourists, the local, state and federal governments have been spending crores of rupees in the name of tourism development and promotion. The Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Board and other government agencies have also organized tourism campaign programs at the national level. But such campaigns and planning programs have not been able to address the problems of Belhia Immigration Office. 

'Tourists who have pre-ordered food for 6 pm come to sleep hungry at 10 pm due to the delay at the immigration office,' said Asha Gurung, owner of Hotel Landmark, which is about one and a half km from the immigration office, 'tourists who come to their hotel stay hungry for hours at the immigration office. After standing in the line, we carry tea and snacks and feed them in the line Tourists from Buddhist countries come to Nepal through India for Lumbini. After visiting the Buddhist tourist places of India including Bodh Gaya, Kushinagar, Sarnath, Sarabasti etc., they come with an Indian bus to Lumbini and nearby Buddha places. 

They usually set aside 1 hour for immigration work and leave for the tour. But as the delay in immigration disrupts the schedule, he rushes back after darshan of Lumbini as soon as possible. Because of this, they have postponed their plans to visit the tourist places like Tilaurakot in Kapilbastu, Ramgram in Nawalparasi, Devdah etc. 

'After September, 75 percent of the hotels here are booked due to Buddhist tourists,' Gurung said, indicating that his hotel is booked in advance for Buddhist tourists for the next month, 'Due to the delay in immigration, the food prepared for the tourists is wasted every day. Tourists also have to sleep hungry. There is an added concern that this will have a negative impact on the tourism sector of Nepal.