Galkot (Baglung), 14 February: An elderly man who used to make things from bamboo in Bhakunde of the district has lost his identity as he reached the end of his life. The physically and mentally weak elderly man who used to live in Bhakunde of Baglung Municipality-10 has still not been identified.
The 90-year-old has been deprived of the social security allowance provided by the state due to the lack of his name, address and relatives. The locals call him ‘Dhandruke Baje’, who has been living in various houses in Bhakunde for a long time. He has been coming to Bhakunde since a young age and earning a living by making bamboo mats. As he gets older, it seems that he has started to have difficulty walking recently.
Unable to speak clearly, he is currently taking shelter in the house of local Narmaya Thapa. Although he is a well-known person in Bhakunde, his name and address have not been revealed. He has become identityless as he has not been able to obtain citizenship, which is provided by the state as a form of identification.
“It has been many years since he has been living in our house. He was here when I got married. I am now 60 years old. Even though he is called Dhandruke Baje, no relatives of his have been found in Dhandruku. We had also taken him to a camp organized in the ward to get citizenship. He was not given citizenship because his identity was not revealed. On Wednesday, Baglung Municipality Deputy Mayor Raju Khadka came to meet him. He got citizenship at the initiative of the municipality and he will be named as a helpless person in old age,” Thapa said.
Nar Bahadur Thapa, former village president and member of the Legislative Assembly of Bhakunde, said that he is around 90 years old. He said that if he can be granted citizenship, his identity will be revealed and he will get social security allowance. Thapa says that he was born in Bijuwa, Jaimini and migrated to Dhandrak after his mother abandoned him, but his relatives have not been able to be traced so far and the problem is that he cannot speak.
The elderly man, who has been living in Bhakunde for many years, has become physically weak despite reaching as far as Sigana and Rayadanda to make choya materials. Baglung Municipality Deputy Mayor Raju Khadka, who went to Bhakunde on Wednesday to understand the condition of the elderly man, said. Khadka said it was sad to be without identity even at the end of his life and said that he had coordinated with the District Administration Office to make citizenship and disability identity cards.
Khadka said, “For him to get an identity means he feels like he belongs to the state. We will coordinate as the local government. No Nepali citizen should be without an identity. If I need protection, I will take it personally. The local government can take any responsibility to grant him citizenship.”
Chief District Officer Netra Subedi said that it would be easier to grant citizenship if the local, ward office and municipality facilitate. Chief District Officer Subedi said that facilitation will be done after studying the legal issues and if there are no guardians, citizenship can be granted if the locals can take protection and the statement of those who have seen/known the case.
