KHANDBARI: Even after the end of war following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, most of the secretaries of the total 33 Village Development Committees (VDC) in Sankhuwasabha district have been operational from the district headquarters Khandbari citing security concerns.

However, District Development Committee and local authorities have been telling them to return to their respective VDCs as their stay at Khandbari is creating problems for the service seekers.

However, the VDC secretaries have been maintaining that insecurity and lack of required facilities in the villages were preventing them from going to their offices in the villages.

Prem Bahadur Shrestha, secretary of Syabun VDC, said he had been offering service in a rented room at the district headquarters since long. According to him, many of his colleagues now possess their own home from where they are providing the services to the local residents.

“So much so, four VDC secretaries have taken a single room to carry out their works,” said a local.

Only a few secretaries of the district’s Constituent No 2 have been in their VDCs while all of them of Constituency No 1 have been stationed at the district headquarters.

Govinda Ghimire, secretary of Dhupu VDC, said he could not go to village due to lack of physical infrastructure in the office and the impending danger on his life due to the insecurity.

Thilejangbu Bhote, a resident of Kimathanka VDC, said the villagers had been facing difficulties even for registering births and deaths as they have to walk for seven days to reach Khandbari.

Interestingly though, the VDC secretaries have been receiving an allowance of Rs 3, 000 per month for working in remote villages.

DDC officer, Laxmi Prasad Niraula, said that the secretaries were already directed to return to their VDCs and added their working performance would be evaluated.