Bhutanese refugee census to begin in eastern Nepal

Bhutanese refugee census will start from November 15 and will include camps in both Jhapa and Morang districts in eastern Nepal, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The National News Agency, RSS reported on Friday that a fresh census will be taken at all the seven camps in eastern Nepal where Bhutanese refugees are languishing.

The Home Ministry and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be cooperating in this effort, the report said.

The UNHCR had been pointing out the need for fresh census to determine the exact number and status of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Bhutanese leaders met with deputy prime minister and foreign minister KP Oli in Kathmandu on Thursday.

The delegation presented a memo to the minister urging him to include India in the forthcoming dialogue with Bhutan.

A ministerial-level talk between Nepal and Bhutan will take place sometime in the third week of this month, according to local reports.

Some 105,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal for 15 years. As many as 15 rounds of bilateral talks on the issue held between the two governments have failed to yield any results so far.

Source: Xinhua