Bhojpur, May 1

Locals in the northern part of Shadananda Rural Municipality have been deprived of citizenship certificates due to lack of officer at Dingla-based Area Administration Office in Bhojpur.

The problem surfaced after the officer was transferred to another place. Staffers at the office said distribution of citizenship cards was halted after Bijaya Rai was transferred to another place in the course of employees adjustment. They added that no one had reached the office yet to replace Rai. People of the area are forced to return empty-handed from Bhojpur  District Administration Office after travelling for hours for citizenship cards.

Assistant Chief District Officer Prayas Bhattarai said the DAO had informed the Ministry of Home Affairs about the problems after residents of the northern part of the rural municipality reached the DAO and complained that they could not avail of the service at the local level. He said people of the area were registering 10 to 15 applications for citizenship cards.