The Bhutanese refugees living in the eastern part of Nepal have requested the Indian government for its initiative for their repatriation to Bhutan. A representative organisation of the elderly refugees on Sunday made such a request through email.

As many as 125 Bhutanese refugees living at the Beldangi camp in Jhapa district asked the Indian government to facilitate their repatriation, said Santa Bir Ghale, spokesman for a refugee’s committee. Ghale said the request is in view of the Bhutanese prime minister's imminent visit to India.

Of the more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees settled originally in eastern Nepal, more than half have gone to the United States and other Western countries under the third-country resettlement programme.

Published on: 19 August 2013 | The Kathmandu Post