A member of the Chepang community, one of most backward indigenous groups of the country, Lila Bahadur has lived half his life in a thatched hut, with his family of six. Today, Lila Bahadur feels elated like never before as his family is likely to move into a newly-built brick house. [break]
Under the People´s Residence Program announced by then finance minister Surendra Pandey in his budget speech, the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DoUDBC) is putting up brick houses for members of the Chepang community. Pandey had allocated Rs 300 million for this program, with half amount meant for the Raute and Kusunda, two other vanishing indigenous groups.
According to Ashtalal Suwal, DoUDBC Chitwan Division Office chief, a total of 300 brick houses will be constructed in different villages of Chitwan and Dhading. And Lila Bahadur´s family is one of those in line for a brick house under the program.
“I always thought that concrete houses were meant only for well-to-do people,” Lila Bahadur said. “But, in the near future, my children will also live in a fine house. They will no longer have to sleep on the cold and wet floor.” Lila Bahadur, who is now living in a thatched hut at Shaktikhor, Chitwan, has been managing two square meals a day for his family, working for daily wages.
The government has provided Rs 162,000 for the construction of each house. “Many Chepang families that originally lived in the jungle are moving into towns, hoping to get such housing,” said Dal Bahadur Praja, a Chepang at Shaktikhor. Dhading has the largest population of Chepangs, almost 30,000.
DoUDBC is building a house for Sharada Chepang´s family also. Her family now lives in a hut near the jungle. When she does not find manual work in the towns, she goes into the jungle to search for roots and bulbs. “When I have my own house, I will be able to raise my children properly,” Sharada says.
Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) has listed the Chepangs in the category of highly-marginalized indigenous groups. Gobinda Chepang, a member of the Constituent Assembly, says the government should help the Chepang people with livelihoods after providing them housing.
Related story
Minister Sudi: 775 Chhaupadi huts demolished to curb menstrual...
