A growing fuel shortage in India, coupled with rising prices, is forcing Nepali migrant workers to return home.

Chandra Bahadur Budha from ward 5 of Tajakot Rural Municipality in Humla had been working as a daily wage labourer in Gauchar of Uttarakhand for the past five months. But the worsening fuel crisis, caused by the Middle East conflict, left him unable to afford or even find cooking gas.

“For about a month, I have been cooking on firewood because gas became too expensive and hard to find. Earlier, we could still buy gas on the black market, but now it is either unavailable or unaffordable,” said Budha after crossing the Gaddachauki border point on Thursday. “We spent more time searching for gas than working, so I decided to return.”

Budha was not alone. Biraj Rokaya from the same village also came back, citing similar hardships. According to them, even firewood had become difficult to obtain in recent weeks.

Nepali workers in India complain that the situation is worse in major cities. In Delhi, the shortage of cooking gas has intensified, with workers reporting that a single cylinder can cost up to IRs 5,000 on the black market. As a result, many migrants are heading back to Nepal.

“It is getting harder to find work, and cooking gas is scarce. Gas is available for the wealthy, but for us, even cooking a meal has become a struggle,” said Manbir Sarki from Chhabispathibhera Rural Municipality in Bajhang district.

Sarki plans to stay in Nepal rather than return immediately to India. “Sometimes a pandemic, sometimes a war, workers like us are always the ones forced to run back home. How long do we have to endure this?” he lamented.

The impact is also being felt in the hospitality sector, where many Nepalis are employed. Chandra Rawat from Sukkhad in Kailali said hotels in Indian cities are laying off staff due to fuel shortages.

“Many Nepalis working in hotels are losing their jobs and returning home. The shortage of gas has reduced business, and workers are hit hardest,” she said.

Nepali migrant workers, spread across both rural and urban areas of India in search of jobs, have been widely affected. Man Bahadur Budha from Jajarkot, who had been working in road construction in Almora, said transport disruptions in hilly regions have also reduced job opportunities. “During the pandemic we had to flee, and now the US-Iran war affected us again,” he said.

The trend is visible at the border points of Sudurpaschim Province. In previous years, crowds of returning migrants would peak just before the Nepali New Year. This year, however, the flow has remained high even after the celebrations. Officials at the Gaddachauki border say around 500 Nepali workers are returning home on a daily basis. Many are coming from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, as well as major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.