Shaktikor, October 25:

Sixty-one-year-old Naramaya Chepang and 62-year-old Chandra Bahadur Chepang of Sidhhi-9 became Nepali citizens formally after receiving their citizenship certificates yesterday.

The First Rifle Battalion at Bharatpur has organised a mobile camp from Sunday at Shaktikhor VDC, Milan Bazaar, to distribute the citizenship certificates to people of the Chepang community.

Eighty-one-year-old Dalimaya Chepang, too, received the citizenship certificate and is glad that she will be now be entitled to the old-age allowance.

Chepangs of the area, who have been deprived of citizenship certificates and other basic amenities for so long, not only received the certificates but were also able to register their marriages and births of their children.

Most parents were also seen taking citizenship certificates along with their children.

Battalion Chief, Lieutenant Colonel Santosh Kumar Dhakal, said the seven-day-long camp is aimed mainly at distributing citizenship certificates to the Chepangs.

He added that the battalion has targeted around 2,000 people for the services this time around.

Free meal was also provided to the Chepangs who had problems returning home and put up at the camp during the night.

There are around 5,000 chepang households in Kaule, Shaktikhor, Sidhhi, Korak and Chandibhanjyag VDCs alone and their population is estimated to be over 23, 000 in Chitwan district.