DIPAYAL: Nanna Bhul, one of the Haliyas of Pachanali VDC-1 in Doti district, was freed from compulsion to work for his landlord after the government announed so.

His livelihood, however, has been hard due to delay in rehabilitation.

Delay in resettlement is slowly snatching away the happiness in the face of Haliyas appeared after their freedom.

Bhul, bonded as a laboured at the house of local Tika Malla, is worried as the government has not provided any alternative for rehabilitation as promised earlier.

Haliyas were people forced to work as tillers for some rich households mostly because their fathers and forefathers owed something to the houses.

After being homeless as the government announced liberation, Bhul had asked his landlord for the same job again. Otherwise, it was too challenging for him to feed seven members of his family.

Likewise, Mata Nepali of Pachanali informed that their socio-economic condition could not change even it has already been seven years since they were announced free.

There are altogether 76 families of the Haliyas in the Pachanali village and none of the families has land, basically because they do not have Haliya identity card.

According to Gorakh Sarki, Coordinator of Haliya Liberation Society in Doti, only 48 Haliya families in Kot of Pachanali have their identity cards.

Sarki further said Haliyas are gradually returning to their previous landlords due to delay in legal rehabilitation.

Pachanali village has the highest number of Haliyas in the district.

Chief District Officer (CDO) Mohan Raj Joshi accepted that only few Haliyas are only well-settled as government allocated insufficient budget for the project.