Rajesh Sharma, 21, from Chabahil in Kathmandu, has been working in a hotel in Janakpur for the past one and half years. “Initially, I was cheated in a lot of places because I looked different and I couldn’t speak in Hindi. I almost got into the habit of substance abuse due to some friends. Now, I don’t have much problem because I’ve come to understand the city,” he says.
At the same time, it’s a huge task to spot a young and employed person in Dhanusa district. Due to the open border between India and Nepal, the existing 40 per cent of the youth are indulged in drug abuse. Unemployment and absence of rule of law have pushed the Janakpur youth towards substance abuse, states a study. Caste discrimination, poverty and political influence are some of the main reasons behind Janakpur’s dwindling development. It is quite apparent that all these have directly hindered the development process of this historic city.
Lack of infrastructure development aside, social bond is also as scarce in the home district of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav.
A group of youth meets the elders for a discussion on politics and the prevailing unemployment amongst the youth in Janakpur.
Substance abuse is a huge problem among the young people there. (Smriti Dhungana/Republica)
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“There’s no close bond amongst us. We stay close together but cannot stand each other’s prosperity. There are cases of quarrels because of a small tree branch that entered the neighbor’s property. They go to court over small issues,” says Monica Jha, a local. Despite a lot of remittance coming to the district from the Gulf countries, poverty and illiteracy are still a big problem.
“My husband is in Qatar to earn money. I didn’t know when my 17-year-old son got into drugs. The police have arrested him and I’m here to meet him,” says Jamuna Chaudhary, while waiting for her son at the local police station. She also claims to be affected by domestic violence from her in-laws.
“People come to the police station with many cases where the concerned authorities have failed to do their job. Similarly, young people here have started consuming a variety of drugs that are being brought into the country to be distributed to different places in Nepal,” Superintendent of Police of the District Police Headquarters, Uttam Subedi says, adding, “Likewise, we’ve found most criminals high on drugs at the time of arrest. And most of them are fairly young. Guardians request us to imprison their sons because they fear that they’ve been waylaid by drugs. Addiction is very high in villages.” He says that lack of a rehabilitation center for the drug users has further spiraled the problem.
While guardians and those not indulged in drug abuse are worried about the many hazards drug addiction can result in, drug addicts claim that drugs do them no harm. 18-year-old Manak Jha, who smokes marijuana claims it’s good for him. He says, “I don’t have money with me to start a business. I learnt farming from my family, but I couldn’t go anywhere else for work. So I started smoking marijuana with my friends. It gives me strength to work. How is this bad?” Jha says that he also brings in drugs from across the border occasionally. “The drugs we bring in are bought by the locals and a single transaction can fetch us between Rs 3000 to 5000,” he claims.
On the other hand, Janakpur’s potential in religious tourism and art is marred by the disgraceful sewage scattered here and there in the city, hindering tourists and visitors. A latest government survey ranked Janakpur on the 75th position after failing to meet the government’s criteria and standard of work performance evaluation. The municipality was also unable to spend the allocated budget.
“Until 15 years back, we could walk on a pitched road. The town area was doing well and the city was clean. When I moved here four months ago, I found that the government officials employed in the municipality and 101 VDCs are people who’ve been unable to sell themselves in the job market,” Guru Subedi, Local Development Officer from Dhanusha remarks. 18 employees from the Local Development Office have been charged with corruption by the anti-corruption committee. “Half of my time is spent answering queries from the committee. Doesn’t this point out how much corruption and irregularities are rampant here?” he says.
According to him, the district which has been functioning without a plan for 12 years is finally on the verge of development.
A project worth Rs 1.6 billion is being implemented from this year. “This project will see to the development of the city’s pipelines,” he informed. Though the statistics point that 80 per cent of the country’s taxes are raised from madhes, the government only allocated 20 per cent for development work here, he claims.
At the same time, the residents of Dhanusha are not ready to accept that a mixed community is crucial for the development of the place and the citizens’ awareness. Their creation of the divide between the madhesi and the pahadi people is behind Dhanusha’s poor state of affairs. “The working youth are out of the country and those who’re still here are mixed up in politics and substance abuse because there’s no employment opportunity and nothing else to do. This is hampering the development of the district,” opines Subedi. He also talks about the challenges of cooperating with the political parties.
