Bajura, May 4

Sapana Badi, 71, of Budhiganga Municipality received her citizenship certificate at District Administration Office, Bajura, yesterday.

Sapana received the citizenship certificate after The Himalayan Times published a report on March 28, stating that Sapana was deprived of social security allowance and other government facilities due to lack of citizenship certificate.

Chief District Officer Luk Bahadur Chhetry said after her news was published in a national daily his office took the initiative to issue her citizenship card.

Budhiganga Municipality Mayor Dipak Shah said they had completed all procedures for issuing citizenship to Sapna. He husband died some four years ago. She has two sons Sagar and Rajesh. They study at local Sarad Secondary School. She said that she did not have money to buy education materials for her kids. Sapana, along with her kids, live in a temporary shelter provided by her neighbour Dipak Sunuwar.

Meanwhile, Kati Awasti, 70, of Adarsha Rural Municipality-4 in Dhangadi received citizenship card at the age of 70. Awasti has been spending a nomadic life in Dipayal Bazaar, Doti, for years.

At the initiative of local representatives of Adarsh Rural Municipality and staffers, citizenship card was offered to Awasti on Wednesday. She received the card after the Ward- 4 chair Narayan Bahadur Pachhera, Ward-3 chair Narendra Rokaya and Ward-6 chair Lal Bahadur Khadayat and rural municipality staffers Dandi Raj Bhatt and Ram Bahadur Bista recommended her for citizenship.

“I am hopeful now that I will be given state facilities as I have acquired citizenship,” she said. Administrative officer at District Administration Office Keshab Lamichhane said that no citizen would be deprived of state facilities due to lack of citizenship certificates.