Dhangadhi, April 2:

Kamaiyas in western Nepal, who were once bonded labourers, may have been freed but their freedom is partial.

They may be free and able to do whatever they like, but they are ruing the lack of sanitation

facilities. There are only ten toilets, those too not durable, for around 300 freed Kamaiyas from 58 families in Dhangadhi of western Nepal.

The 58 freed Kamaiya families, who received green cards of land ownership but not land, are staying on the northern side of Naina Devi chowk of Dhangadhi, after grabbing the land of Dhangadi airport since February /March 2004. “We are compelled to go to the toilets with umbrella during the rainy season due to the sordid state of the toilets.”

“Two katthas (1/20 bigha of land) of land is suitable only for constructing a house with a backyard. Where to construct the toilet; where is the space?” asked a freed Kamaiya, Jagat Ram Choudhary.

He added that the Kamaiyas have to queue up for going to the toilet. “There is no river nearby. To avoid pollution, we built the toilets collectively,” he said. For the Kamaiyas, toilet is not the only problem. Drinking water is a major hassle. There are only six tube-wells, constructed by different organisations.

“We are compelled to wait for hours to fetch water,” Choudhary grumbled.

The freed Kamaiyas are squatting on land of the Geta Ayurvedic Academy, the Forest Range-post, Attariya, and Tikapur airport.

Around 200 freed Kamaiyas alone in Geta Ayurvedic Academy are reduced to drawing water from a single tubewell.

Given the horrendous conditions and the lack of facilities, this year also there is a possibility of outbreak of different diseases in the camp that is based in the Dhangadi airport.

Last year, freed Kamaiyas of Geta had to suffer the outbreak of diarrhoea and encephalitis

due to lack of sanitation in their camps.