“I was making myself useful at home taking care of cattle. They invited me for training, and now I am stranded here,” said Bohara. [break]She had come to Dhangadhi carrying just travel fare, as she had been told that food and lodging expenses would be taken care of.
The United Nations was supposed to start the training on February 9. But the training has still not started. Nearly a dozen disqualified combatants who arrived in Dhangadhi from various hilly districts in the far-western region are now stranded here with little money at their disposal.
“I had arrived here carrying just Rs 4,000 that I had borrowed, as I had been told that I would receive food and lodging allowance during the training period. I don´t have any money left now,” said Dhan Singh Dhami, who came from Shankarpur of Darchula district. “There is no one we know here. We are marooned,” he added.
The disqualified combatants arrived here from districts including Darchula, Baitadi and Dadeldhura to receive cell phone repair training.
They are staying in two rented rooms at Motipur Chowk of Dhangadhi.
“The owners of the house where we have rented the rooms are also asking for money,” said Himal Karki, who came from Dedeldhura. “Even the eateries are not willing to feed us as we don´t have money,” he added.
The disqualified combatants alleged that UN staffers have not shown any concern for them despite communicating their problem.
“Raju Aryal, a UN staff told us to return home and said information about the training will reach us by February 27,” Karki said.
Bhoj Bahadur Bam, another disqualified combatant, said he was not too keen to participate in the training. “But they made phone calls, and even sent people to request me to participate. And now, I have been left on my own,” he said.
The term “disqualified” has made these people susceptible to social ostracism. They also face problems supporting their family as they have no source of income. This has led to a deep sense of despair in them.
They say training does not attract them so much as there is no job guarantee after training.
The scheduled training was suspended indefinitely in Dhangadhi on February 9 after some disqualified combatants vandalized the UN office there. One of the disqualified combatants is in police custody for suspected involvement in the vandalism.
Disqualified combatants claim the vandalism resulted after the training did not start on time, and they were made to wait for hours outside the office gate while trying to talk to UN staffers about allegations of misuse of funds.
UN staffer Raju Aryal could not be contacted for comments.
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