For Nepalis working in various cities across India, returning home to celebrate Dashain and Tihar—two major Hindu festivals—has been a tradition.

As the country’s biggest festivals approach, almost every border point, bus terminal, and major highway is teeming with people heading home for the celebrations.

At the Gauriphanta, also called Trinagar border point in Sudurpashchim Province, alone, thousands of Nepali migrant workers are returning home daily to mark the festivals. Yet, even amid this festive rush, a significant number are also crossing in the opposite direction—leaving for India in search of work right before the festivals.

On both sides of the Gauriphanta border in Kailali district, the mix of joy and sorrow is palpable. While returning festivalgoers crowd buses and checkposts, an increasing number of people are queuing up to cross into India—some to join work, many with heavy hearts.

According to the Armed Police Force and other authorities monitoring the Gauriphanta border point, over 3,000 Nepalis are arriving in Nepal daily from India, while more than 1,000 Nepalis are leaving for India each day in recent times.

After registering his details at the Armed Police Force’s Border Outpost (BOP) and moving towards the Indian Security Force (SSB) checkpoint, Kamal Saud from Nawadurga Rural Municipality in Dadeldhura district pulled out his citizenship and other documents from his bag. Seven people were ahead of him in the queue. Saud, who was heading to Bangalore for work, cleared the security checks and walked towards the bustling Gauriphanta bus park on the Indian side.

On both sides of the border, the faces of people waiting in line for security clearance looked weary. For many, the pain of leaving family just before Dashain weighed heavily; for others, the recent tightening of security following the unrest in Nepal meant longer, more stressful border checks.

“Who would want to leave home and go abroad right at the time of Dashain?” asked Saud. “But we have no other means to make a living. If I don’t return now, I might even lose the little work I have left in India.”

Even during the festival season, the flow of people leaving through the Gauriphanta border for work in various Indian cities has not slowed.

Among them was Karan Bista from Suwakot in Dadeldhura, travelling with his wife and children to Delhi in search of livelihood. At the Indian border in Trinagar, the faces of many leaving their homes and families behind for work looked grim.

Jeewan Tharu of Sukhad in Kailali, also heading to Delhi, arrived at Gauriphanta to catch a bus towards Paliya and informed his wife back home about his travel plans.

According to the AFP Border Outpost at Trinagar, more than 4,000 Nepalis crossed into India via this checkpoint in the past three days alone. The BOP chief, DSP Dhirendra Shah, said that over 1,300 people on average are crossing into Indian cities daily from this point. Security personnel noted that the number of people heading to India just before Dashain this year is much higher than in previous years.

According to Armed Police Force officials stationed at the border, last year, the number of people leaving for India from the day of Ghatasthapana, the first day of the 15-day Dashain festival, averaged around 250 per day. But this year, the numbers have rocketed—over 1,100 Nepalis crossed the border on Wednesday alone, while 1,500 crossed on Tuesday.

The flow did not recede even on Friday. From various districts of Sudurpashchim, hundreds of people continued to head towards Indian cities each day via the Gauriphanta border crossing, looking for work. Those unable to get leave to return home for Dashain are now taking their families to India instead. As a result, the number of women and children travelling towards Indian cities has been notably high this year.

For the residents of Sudurpashchim—the province notoriously low on poverty indices—India’s major cities have long been the primary destination for employment. Many work as security guards, hotel staff, shop assistants, domestic help, or construction labourers. Because such jobs often pay very low, many workers supplement their income by cleaning vehicles in the mornings, they say.

The Trinagar border in Kailali and Gaddachauki in Kanchanpur remain the busiest crossings for this constant movement. While returning home for Dashain and Tihar is an old tradition for Sudurpashchim’s migrant workers, this year the number of people both leaving and returning has created chaos at the border despite heightened security checks.

The Gauriphanta and Gaddachauki crossings serve not only Sudurpashchim’s nine districts but also parts of Karnali Province—including Surkhet, Mugu, Dailekh, Humla, and Kalikot—as well as Dang in Lumbini Province.

Transportation companies, such as Kedar Transport Services based in Dhangadhi, operate on regular routes from here to major Indian cities including Haryana, Delhi, Bangalore, Maharashtra, Pune, Punjab, Shimla, Jammu, Lucknow, Assam, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Surat, according to company employee Kabi Thapa.

This year, both Nepali and Indian security forces have intensified border checks. Following recent political unrest in Nepal and reports of prison escapes, both sides view security as a serious challenge.

The Armed Police Force maintains detailed records of individuals crossing the border, allowing passage only after verifying official documents. Indian security officials, too, have imposed strict measures and, according to security sources, have compiled a list of prison escapees to prevent illegal crossings.