KATHMANDU, July 8: A group of Nepali workers, who were earlier selected under the Employment Permit System (EPS) system by the South Korean government, staged a demonstration at Maitighar in the capital on Wednesday.

They organized the protest to exert pressure on the government to facilitate them to fly to South Korea as nationwide lockdown measures enforced by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has left them unable to fly to their labor destination.

International flights to and from Nepal have been suspended since March 22. The government has announced that the suspension of international flights to and from Nepal will remain in place till July 22.

The youths took to the street for not being able to leave for South Korea due to ongoing suspension on the international commercial flights. The protestors also urged the government to arrange flights to South Korea at the earliest. 

The youths vented their ire against the government for not helping them in their travel even as they have received employment offers despite the fact that COVID-19 pandemic has left an adverse effect in the employment sector all across the world. 

The agitating youths said that around 3,000 Nepali workers are likely to lose job opportunities in South Korea as they are forced to be stuck in Nepal due to suspension of international flights. The agitating youths said they have fulfilled required criteria for joining jobs in South Korea. “We have worked hard for a very long time to get job opportunities in South Korea. We do not want to lose it,” Ramhari Devkota, one of the job aspirants in South Korea said.