Banke, September 26:

Samariya Chidimar, 50, of Belaspur in Nepalgunj municipality is not excited about the upcoming Dashain because of poverty.

She works as a housemaid in rich people’s houses to feed her disabled husband and other family members.

“Every day is an ordeal for me. Dashain is for the rich people, not for the poor,” said Samariya. Samariya’s family members have been compelled to wear tattered clothes for four years. “Neither we can eat meat and sweets nor can we wear new clothes during Dashain,” Samariya said.

It is not the case of Samariya alone, however. The entire Chidimar settlement, comprising 300 households, is mired in poverty.

Killing birds is the ancestral occupation of the Chidimar people.

“I cannot buy new clothes for my children due to poverty. The poor people like us have to live in poverty all the time,” said Raj Kumar Chidimar. No different is the plight of Housilal Chidimar, who is considered an ‘intellectual’ in the settlement.

Most of the Chidimars remain busy throughout the year, exploring the means to eke out a living. “We can not celebrate Dashain due to poverty,” said Housilal. Mired in poverty, these people are not making any preparations for the upcoming Dashain.