DHANGADI, May 14: He came to Kathmandu seeking liberty, all the way from Pachanali, Doti, and returned home a happy man after the government was forced to abolish the haliya system on September 6, 2008. Eight months on, Krishna BK is still tilling his landlord´s land because the government´s declaration remains merely a declaration, nothing more. [break]
"I don´t have an inch of land, nor do I have any means of providing shelter for my family. I am still a haliya because if I don´t plough, I can´t even feed my children," BK says, expressing his helplessness. He´s not fibbing: the government has been nothing but apathetic about resolving the issue of the haliyas´ rehabilitation.
Krishna tills his landlord´s land in return for a small piece of land given to him for cultivation. There are many others like Krishna, with similar stories to tell.
Freed Haliyas claim leaders and gov officials extorted portion...
Almost 20,000 households in the Far Western region are also yet to experience real freedom because since the government hasn´t tackled their problems, these long-suffering people are forced to remain haliyas to support their family.
"Despite the government´s abolishing the haliya system--after the haliyas reached Kathmandu last year to protest--the haliyas are yet to be free because the government did not rehabilitate them," says Treasurer of the National Haliya Liberation Society Sita BK.
She says that there are three types of haliyas in the region. The first are the ones who become haliyas to pay off the interest accrued on loans they have borrowed and failed to clear, the second are those who become haliyas because they were provided land for cultivation, and the third are the ones who are brought from other places by the landlords and settled in their land.
The second and third types are not liberated, and even those of the first type are facing difficulties in getting their loans cleared, and facing added pressure from their landlords to pay their loans.
Sita BK feels that the haliyas will really be free only when the government fulfils its commitment of addressing their 11-point demand that the haliyas had raised during the protest last year. They have demanded Rs 100,000 in cash, and 10 kattha land in the Tarai, and 10 ropani in the hilly regions for each family.
They also want to be allowed ownership of the houses where they are living. And they also want haliya identity cards, and a guarantee that they will be provided with health services and that their children will be provided with education.
But the government has not obliged, leaving the haliyas craving for freedom-- as they were before.
