Those unable to receive tika with family, and the crowd leaving for abroad on tika day

Many Nepalis on essential duty and many others leaving for foreign employment have not been able to sit with their families to receive tika today.

Since services such as health and security cannot be stopped, people working in those sectors have been unable to go home even though they are inside the country. Those deployed by security agencies to make Dashain safe and smooth for others are themselves left out of the tika ritual.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police Rameshwar Paudel, chief of the District Police Office, Chitwan, around 90 percent of police personnel do not get to go home for tika. He said this situation, in which police forgo tika with their families so the public can celebrate safely, has repeated for years.

Additional security personnel are also sent to sensitive districts from elsewhere. Some Nepalis also miss tika because of work pressure or because they are far from home.

Meanwhile, at Tribhuvan International Airport today, there has been a steady flow of passengers leaving for abroad with red tika on their foreheads and jamara on their heads. Seeking jobs, studies and a better future, they have parted from their families on festival day itself to head overseas.