Dalit family deprived of citizenship

Bajura, November 20

All the family members of Durpati Sharki of Khaptad Chededaha Rural Municipality-2 have been deprived of citizenship certificates in Bajura.

Sixty-year-old Durpati has yet to receive the citizenship certificate while her daughter Mana, 24, and son Tej, 20, also are yet to receive citizenships. Tej had lacked the faculty of sight after he suffered from measles when he was three years old. Tej and her mother were derived of social security allowance due to lack of citizenships.

Durpati has been living with her children for the past 15 years in her mother’s house following her husband’s second marriage. “I have visited the authority concerned many times for want of citizenship certificate,” she said. Durpati said she was sometimes asked for her husband’s citizenship certificate to receive her citizenship while sometimes she was asked to bring the documents of migration to Bajura from Bajhang.

“I could not make my citizenship certificate till date as I did not search for my husband since we started living separately,” she added. Durpati said even her children could not make their certificates because she did not have citizenship certificate.

Ward Chair Min Bahadur Shahi of the rural municipality said Durpati was deprived of social security allowance due to lack of citizenship certificate.

Chief District Officer Ganga Prasad Neupane said Durpati would get the citizenship if she produced the citizenship certificate of her husband and recommendation of migration to Bajura from Bajhang.