Lalitpur, October 6:

The services of remote Village Development Committees (VDC) of Lalitpur are being provided from District Development Committee (DDC) office at Manbhavan, Lalitpur, since the breakdown of ceasefire in 2003.

Of the 41 VDCs in the district, 20 are located outside the valley and the day-to-day affairs of these VDCs are being operated from the headquarters.

“After the term of elected bodies expired in 2002, we had to perform our duties from the district headquarters and due to the ongoing conflict and unfavourable condition in the village we have been discharging our duties from the DDC office,” said Sambhu Ghimire secretary of Nallu VDC.

Ghimire said the secretaries went back to their respective villages after the announcement of the ceasefire in January 2003, but returned to the district headquarters after the breakdown of the truce.

Chandra Bahadur Ghimire, a local of Asrang VDC said, “Absence of civil servants in the VDC is affecting us badly; not only the development works have halted, we also have to travel a long distance to get small administrative work done and it takes a lot of time and money.”

Chandra has come to the DDC from Asrang to get the physically disabled certificate for a physically disabled child from his village. Residents from Asrang have to walk for six hours to reach Bhattedanda to get a vehicle that comes to the district headquarters.

Ganga Adhikary, secretary of Pyuthar and Devichaur VDCs has never been to the places which he has been posted to. “As civil servants and secretaries used to assist the local representatives in administrative works, we have to recommend for the citizenships for the people whom we do not know and work for the places where we hardly visit,” said Adhikary.

The secretaries of the Nallu, Bhardeu, Chaughare, Dalchowki, Sankhu, Ikudol, Malta, Ghusel, Pyutar, Asrang, Gamdi, Thuladurlung, Chandanpur, Kaleshwore, Manikhel, Bhukhel, Devichaur, Dhukuchhap and Bhattedanda VDCs are stationed at the district headquarters in Lalitpur.