Kathmandu, July 20:

The standing committee meeting of the CPN-UML today drew the attention of the government towards hardships being faced by the freed Kamaiyas, who have been deprived of basic needs pledged by the government while liberating them from bonded labour system in 2000. Out of the total 30,000 freed Kamaiya families, only 12,000 have been provided with land, that too in inappropriate places.

The freed Kamaiyas who have received land have also been facing threats of displacement and humiliation from local communities, the statement said.

“It is sad to note that the freed Kamaiyas have been facing mental and physical torture even after their liberation from bonded labourer system,” said the statement, asking the government to provide at least a shelter to each Kamaiya family.

Demanding that the government live up to its pledges of providing five katthas of land, 35 cubic metres of timber for building a house and Rs 10,000 in cash, the freed Kamaiyas have been agitating in the capital for three days. The Kamaiyas were freed from five districts in the mid and far-western Terai regions six years ago.

The UML standing committee members also asked the government to provide relief materials to the people injured during the Jana Andolan and make all the government-formed task forces and committees more effective by providing them with necessary resources and means.