JUMLA, Jan 19: A large number of people with various kinds of disabilities in Jumla have been deprived of identity cards for the disabled in the current fiscal year.
People with disabilities have been deprived of their rights and services after the government scrapped the district-level Women and Children Office (WCO) in the new federal setup while the local government is yet to start the procedure for the distribution of such cards.
The local government is still in dilemma over the distribution process for the disabled ID cards. Lal Chandra Sarki of Tatopani Rural Municipality-3, Litakot laments that he has been making rounds of government office seeking his identity card since the past five months but in vain.
"The facilities of Singha Durbar are yet to reach the villages. The confusion among the local units has compelled disabled people to suffer," said Sarki.
Lack of disabled-friendly buildings a problem in Jumla
He further stated that local government has snatched their rights though the government had never neglected the disabled people.
"We were expecting easy access to facilities with the formation of the local government but it turned out to be the opposite," said Prakash Neupane, another disabled local.
Ram Krishna Neupane, general secretary of the Disabled Rehabilitation and Development Center (DRDC), Jumla informed that the local units are still in confusion over which authority is responsible for the distribution of Disabled ID cards.
"None of the local units have distributed the ID cards, nor have they shown any efforts to start or hand over the responsibility," said General Secretary Neupane.
All seven rural municipalities and a municipality in the district have not been able to distribute the ID cards for the disabled, stating that they do not have the authority. As per the data maintained by the DRDC as of mid-July 2018, there are 3,265 disabled people in Jumla.
Those who have been deprived of Disabled ID cards have vented their ire against the government authorities for not taking initiative to solve their problem. Especially those with serious disabilities and those who cannot earn their living have been deprived of their allowances.
Meanwhile, Apasaradevi Neupane, deputy mayor of Chandannath Municipality, stated that the scrapping of the WCO, has led to confusion over whom to assign the responsibility.
"Many disabled people reach our office seeking ID cards but return empty handed as we don't have clarity over the roles and responsibilities even now," said Neupane. She informed Republica that the municipality has not been able to form a work plan for the distribution of such cards.
