Rajbiraj, December 31

Locals of Rajbiraj Municipality-13 have been deprived of basic facilities such as drinking water, electricity, transportation and sanitation, among others, in Saptari.

“The locals at Parsahi, which is just 10 km south from the district headquarters Rajbiraj, are deprived of drinking water. “We are compelled to drink water from a nearby pond as the water in our tubewell is not drinkable,” regretted Dukhi Ram. Majority of families living in the settlements are from Ram, Chamar and Musahar communities. “We have to use pond water to wash clothes, clean utensils, and bathe, besides drinking. We have to spend nights in darkness due to lack of electricity,” complained Ram.

Ward 13 of the municipality was formed by merging ward 4, 5 and 6 of the then Koiladi Madhepura VDC. People of the ward were not happy with the decision of the government to merge the wards into municipality as there was no infrastructure and facilities needed for a municipality. “The narrow roads have not been black-topped, most of the people in the ward live in huts, children are seen playing in the dust, there is foul smell of open defecation everywhere,” said Gosai Sada, another local.