KARNALI, Aug 23: It took 82-year-old Dhansara Budha of Kharpunath Rural Municipality–3, Raya Village, Humla, nine days to obtain a national identity card. Her son and fellow villagers carried her on a stretcher from her home to Bokchyagauda. After carrying her for two hours, they had to hire a vehicle for Rs 8,000 to reach Simkot. Geographically, Kharpunath is connected to the district headquarters, Simkot.
“We carried my mother on a stretcher with the help of neighbors for two hours to Bokchyagauda. From there, we reserved a vehicle for Rs 8,000 and took her to the District Administration Office (DAO) in the headquarters,” said her son, Satya Budha. “We spent over Rs 40,000 to get the national identity card.”
Dhansara is blind and in poor health. There were discrepancies in her surname on her citizenship certificate and her name in the voter list. “It took nine days to correct all these details and finally obtain the national identity card,” he added.
Since the national identity card has been made mandatory for receiving social security allowance, opening bank accounts, and other purposes, ordinary citizens in remote areas have faced severe difficulties. “Not only my mother, but many elderly and disabled people who cannot walk are carried to the district headquarters,” he said. “The government makes decisions sitting inside Singha Durbar in Kathmandu but does not understand the pain of people in remote areas.”
Supply of petroleum products affected in Kathmandu Valley as ta...
Chief District Officer (CDO) of Humla, Narayan Pandeya, confirmed that Dhansara and her son had obtained the national identity card and returned home. “They arrived on Tuesday. Wednesday was a public holiday in Karnali,” he said. “We issued the card on Thursday and sent them back.”
In Palata Rural Municipality–2, Lapha of Kalikot, 78-year-old Bhuhane Sarki has been at the DAO for two days to obtain the national identity card. On Wednesday morning, she and her group set out from home and reached the DAO in the afternoon. “Yesterday was a public holiday,” she said. “Today we are in line, but we don’t know when it will be ready.” She said she used to receive a social security allowance by showing her citizenship card. “Now, a different document is required to receive the allowance,” she said. “That’s why we came here to make it.”
Similarly, 80-year-old Pati Pandeya of Tadi, Khandachakra Municipality–3, Kalikot, was taken to the DAO by her son, Bhanuprabhat Pandeya. “After the government made the national identity card mandatory, it has become very challenging to bring elderly and disabled people to the administration office,” he said. “If this is the condition even in the municipality where the district headquarters lies, imagine how much more difficult it must be for those walking from distant villages.”
After the national identity card was made compulsory for social security allowance, district and area administration offices have been crowded with citizens. Since the beginning of this fiscal year, people have been queuing up as early as 5 a.m. to get the card.
Chhammakali Sarki of Palata said it was difficult to get the service. “For those of us coming from far away, it would help if the government processed it quickly,” she said. “Along with time, our money is also being wasted.”
In Kalikot, there is only one registration station for national identity cards, causing delays. Assistant CDO Janak Sharma said the growing number of service seekers has created problems. “We start providing services earlier than office hours,” he said. “The problem is due to the high number of applicants.” He suggested that if registration stations were established at the local level, the process would be easier.
Kalikot’s CDO, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, said preparations are underway to provide services from all rural municipalities. “We have requested registration stations from the ministry,” he said. “Once they arrive, we will send teams to collect data in the municipalities.”
More service seekers from remote districts
Most of those coming to the DAO in Surkhet for national identity cards are from outside the district. According to CDO Jagadishwor Upadhyay, more than 80 percent of the service seekers are from other districts of Karnali.
“Since national identity cards are also issued from two area administration offices along with the District Administration Office, there is no crowd of local citizens here,” said CDO Upadhyay. “Eighty percent of those who come here are from other districts of Karnali.” The administration office also distributes cards through the area offices in Mehalkuna and Babiyachaur.
He said services are provided as long as service seekers with tokens are present. “We have five stations, and having more stations has made it easier,” he said. “As long as people are here, we finish their work and send them back.”
