COVID19
Photo Essays
2 MIN READ
The Nepal government’s announcement of a lockdown threw millions of lives in disarray, perhaps none more so than that of migrant workers looking to return home.
How will we remember 2020? The Record is republishing stories from a curated series of visual stories commissioned by photo.circle that presents the work of visual storytellers based across Nepal who began documenting their communities since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
When Nepal enforced a nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020 in response to the spreading Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of migrants were stuck outside of the country’s borders with no way to get back home. Nepali migrant workers in India began to return home in droves as the pandemic shut down industries, factories and most places of employment.
Over just one weekend at the end of May, 19,000 Nepalis crossed the border into Nepal at Gauriphanta in Kailali. New arrivals are sent to quarantine and according to Narendra Karki, chief of the Health Division at the provincial Ministry of Social Development, 37,000 people have been quarantined since the lockdown was enforced. However, only 1,500 of those who arrived have been given Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests.
This story was produced for the Nepal Photo Project with support from the photo.circle 2020 grant.
Features
4 min read
Local bodies across Nepal are funneling scarce resources into pointless projects like stadiums even as people in their constituency struggle to make a living
Features
5 min read
The former prime minister’s explosive accusations about corruption in the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project could have far-reaching ramifications
Explainers
4 min read
They have three months to comply
Explainers
4 min read
The govt has callously suspended its campaign to repatriate stranded migrant workers
Explainers
6 min read
The Record presents a series of infographics on Nepal's labour channels for outgoing and returning migrant labourers
Perspectives
7 min read
Dilly dallying with local elections over a discourse on legal conflict so close to the election date sets a terrible precedent for a young republic like Nepal.
Features
6 min read
To boost economic growth, the government is providing low interest loans for young entrepreneurs, but given the experience of similar past loans, both entrepreneurs and banks remain skeptical.
News
3 min read
Leaders across the political spectrum react to hastily enforced ordinances