Kachide (Dhankuta):

The return of democracy after Jan Andolan II has left popular poetess Jhamak Ghimire in the lurch.

Ghimire, who cannot speak nor walk, had expressed her dissent of the earlier regime through her writings, but has now been deprived of the facilities that she had been getting earlier. The government had stopped the financial support she had been getting in 2005 because she had written against the royal regime.

Ghimire had been getting a monthly financial help of Rs 1,000 provided by the government since 2002 in recognition of her contribution to Nepali literature. Ghimire alleges that the present government was not paying any attention to resume the financial support.

She claimed that though she had sent numerous letters to the government, she had not received any response.

According to her, the financial support from the government had stopped because she had written against the autocratic regime in local and national newspapers, and that she “had taken that as a reward”.

She had even boycotted an award ceremony during the royal regime. She expressed surprise that even the democratic government was delaying resuming support.

Stating that poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire also receives financial help from the government, Ghimire urged the government to resume their aid.

“The money being provided by the government used to be great help for her studies,” added Jhamak’s father Krishna Prasad Ghimire.

Ghimire, who has been honoured with dozens of awards and felicitations including Gorkha Dakshin Bahu fourth, has over half a dozen literary works to her name.