PANCHTHAR: Locals of remote areas in the eastern hilly districts walk for three days to reach the district headquarters of Panchthar, Phidim, to obtain their Permanent Account Number (PAN).

After the government made PAN mandatory for individuals to receive their salary or wages, people working in government, non-government, and private sectors have started to take initiative to obtain PAN, which is the citizen's identification as the country's taxpayer.

A taxpayer service office is located in Phidim to oversee the activities in Panchthar, Taplejung and parts of Tehrathum districts, which is why employed locals from these areas have to travel far to reach Phidim.

According to Durga Bhattarai, an employee of the animal development office located in Phaktanglung Rural Municipality of Taplejung district, they have to walk so far because the road that reaches these remote areas have been damaged due to the rain.

After this regulation was implemented, over 3,000 PAN have been distributed within the duration of 40 days only from the taxpayer service office of Panchthar, informed chief at the office, Kiran Limbu.

Moreover, the tax office further stated that around 100 applications for the PAN (individuals) are received at the office on a daily basis.