Jag Bahadur Budha from the Far West crossed the Mahakali several times through Gaddachouki and reached Delhi. However, this time he is having a strange experience. Because he first crossed the Mechi River in the east and flew to the Gulf via Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri, West Bengal, India.

 'He has crossed the Mahakali to India many times,' he says, 'but this is the first time he has crossed the Mechi to India.'

Harak Bahadur Jimmy Rai of Sankhuwasabha is also preparing to go to Qatar from India. "There are 10 of us going to Qatar," he said. Since what to do is expensive, we are getting unnecessary suffering.' 

Manpower companies have started flying many workers to the Gulf from India after international air fares are expensive in Nepal. Kathmandu-UAE one-way air fare is now more than 55 thousand rupees. However, you can fly from Bagdogra to UAE for 43 thousand 200 Nepali rupees.

ie Bagdogra-UAE air fare is about 12 thousand rupees cheaper than Kathmandu-UAE. Similarly, going from Kathmandu to Doha in Qatar costs more than 80,000 Nepalese rupees, while going from Bagdogra in India costs only about 50,000 rupees. 

According to manpower businessmen, it is cheaper to go to Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Oman and Bahrain from India. They say that the air fare will be cheaper by Rs 12,000 to Rs 30,000 when going to these countries from Bagdogra than from Nepal.

The closest Indian airport from Nepal is Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal. There is a lot of movement of Nepali workers at this airport. Sanjay Subedi, a manpower operator in Kathmandu, said that around 200 workers have been sent to Gulf countries from Bagdogra Airport since Dasain.

He says that some manpowers are sending to Gulf countries even after taking them directly to Delhi. "Work is being done to send workers from different airports in India based on how cheap the fare is," he said. 

The use of Indian airports has increased after Nepali workers who have obtained work permits do not need a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) when going to the country of destination for work through India. On October 26, the Nepali Embassy in Delhi published a notice and said that Nepalis who have obtained work permit can travel without taking NOC when using Indian airports.

Nepali diplomatic, official service, passport carriers, Nepali citizens with United Nations laissez-passer (UNLP) and children under 16 years also do not need NOC in the notification.

According to Rajendra Bhandari, President of Nepal Foreign Employment Association, laborers are going to the Gulf countries through the Indian route due to the high fares. "Air tickets are still expensive," he said, "the government should reduce the price." It is estimated by Bhandari that at least 10,000 Nepali workers have used Indian airports for foreign employment in the past two and a half months.  According to the

association, currently 1,500 Nepalese go abroad for employment every day. However, due to the high cost of air fares, they are in trouble. Bhandari says that using foreign airports can cause various problems.