A Nepal police official asks a youth, approaching for a security check at the Tribhuvan International Airport, to remove the ‘Khada’ he is wearing.
Khada is a silk scarf traditionally used for farewells or greetings. It is also used while honouring a person.
The young man looks nervous and seems not to have understood the official’s instruction. The Nepal Police official, then, catches the Khada, jerks it to the side, telling the youth to remove it.
The official then looks at the person recording the video, most likely asking to make it stop. The video abruptly ends.
While the way the official asked the youth and made him remove his scarf can be a subject of interpretation, it mostly received negative feedback on social media after the video went viral.
Many have commented that the way the official could have treated the youth in a better way.
“The man might have been headed to a Gulf country for work, and not understood what the official said with many things going on in his mind,” reads one comment made on the video shared on Youtube. “Is this the way police are trained to treat fellow citizens?”
Thousands of Nepali youths leave the country for foreign employment, education, visit or to permanently settle abroad every day. Over the years, it has become common for families and friends to accompany the travellers at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
People then bid them farewell with scarves and garlands.
Following the viral incident, TIA Office has prohibited using silk scarves and garlands during the security check.
While Nepalis will be able to use traditional scarves and garlands during farewell and greetings at TIA in the coming days, the travellers will have to avoid wearing them during security checks, according to a notice issued by the airport authorities on Thursday (September 12). The passengers will have to keep them in their bags.
TIA General Manager Jagannath Niraula informed the state-owned news agency RSS that passengers have been requested not to wear silk scarves or garlands during security checks, as these items tend to get stuck in the X-ray machines, conveyor belts, and escalators, causing damage to the equipment.
Niraula said, "We issued a notice urging passengers on international flights to refrain from wearing scarves and garlands during security checks. Passengers are advised to place these items in their bags during the screening process."
The discarded scarves and garlands left around the airport have also negatively impacted the airport’s cleanliness and appearance, Niraula added.
Passengers are permitted to carry scarves and garlands with them, as long as they are stored in their bags during security checks, according to TIA.
(With inputs from RSS)