Itahari, November 29:

Work in Village Development Committees in Susari have been affected as almost all VDC secretaries have been stationed at the district headquarters, Inaruwa, for the last ten months, citing the security reason.

Villagers walk for hours to visit the district headquarters for even for having recommendation letters and migration, birth and death registration certificates. VDC secretaries have been displaced due to the condition of insecurity and ignorance of authorities concerned to resolve our problem, said president of the VDC secretaries’ rights protection centre, Sunsari Bal Ram Dhakal.

“The villagers have no choice but to come to Inaruwa for getting their work done”, said Ramesh Chandrabanshi of Sunsari’s far remote place Srilanka Tapu. “We are the most to suffer after the VDC secretaries have been staying at the district headquarters.”

VDC secretaries were displaced to the district headquarters after different factions in Tarai have unleashed terror from Magh/Falgun last year and since then no seceratries have gone back to their respective VDC.

Bhawani Prasad Dhamala of the protection centre said: “Its been long since there is no word of assurance from the government to provide security to us.

Different armed factions have been continuing to intimidate over the telephone even at the district headquarters, said a VDC secretary. Nearly two dozen VDC secretaries from southern part of the district are staying at Inaruwa, said local development officer in Sunsari Guru Prasad Subedi.