BIRGUNJ: Tanu Majhi who lives in the Musahar settlement at Telkuwa of Gadhimai Municipality-2 in Bara is not much interested about the third phase of local level election taking place in eight districts of Province 2 on September 18.

What is there to motivate the 70-year-old man to take interest in the election? Not only him but also other people from the Musahar settlement are not much excited regarding the election as they feel it has nothing to do with them and it is not their concern. Why should they have concern in the election?

The country celebrated big political changes in the recent decades, but the fate of Telkuwa and its people has remained the same.

In every election, it has become customary for political parties, cadres, supporters and candidates reaching their doorsteps with 'false promises' of doing something to improve their living conditions, provided that they vote for them and elect them to public positions.

But following the election, they never give a second look to the village, complains the 70-year-old man.

"There is no political leader in the power who has realised the issues of the people here who are becoming poorer day by day," the grandpa shares his personal understanding.

Telkuwa is home to around 160 Musahar households with around 300 eligible voters for the election.

When voters of other areas are eagerly to choose their 'right' candidates to operate the local-level, Telkuwa's Musahar people are toiling hard for their landlords to make a living.

“Elections are frequent. Political leaders arrived here to woo voters, convinced them to vote for them, but they never made second arrival once they won the election,” said another local Babulal Majhi.

Musahar People fetching water from the tube well that they have in their community in Kodarkatti of Ramnagar VDC-3 in Saptari on Monday, July 27, 2015. Photo: Byas Shankar Upadhyaya

A woman is seen casting her vote as a security personnel watches, in the second phase of elections in the polling centre at GyanJyoti Higher Secondary School, Chapargaudi of Kohalpur Municipality-12 in Banke district, Province 5, on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Photo courtesy : Santosh Shahi

Telling of the predicaments of the Dalit Musahar community, a local media-person Subash Kumar Ram said the community is forced to take out a higher interest loan from their landlords to fulfil their basic needs like purchasing clothes only to fail to pay back, thus further sinking them into debt.

They are also finding it difficult to protect themselves from wind, and rains as their battered house cannot withstand them. Moreover, the people's housing programme is yet to reach out to them, adding to their woes.

Although approximately 9,000 Musahar families in Bara have applied for being listed on the programme, no progress has been achieved so far to this effect, the community complained.

The programme meant for the poor Musahar community in the district has failed to reach out to the actual group despite spending tens of thousands of rupees, complained an employee of the Urban Development and Building Construction Office.

Lawmakers and various political party leaders have been accused of prioritising their local leaders and cadres on the programme.

The government has released more than Rs 60 million to build 3,000 concrete houses for the poor of Bara, Parsa and Rautahat.

According to the latest Census, Bara has a total of 9639 Musahar families. Anyone visiting the Telkuwa Mushar settlement can easily realise what type of life they are living— a miserable one.

Bara has 16 local levels at its two sub metropolises, five municipalities and 16 rural municipalities.