Lately, the District Administration Office in Jajarkot has been witnessing a crowd of people seeking to obtain citizenship certificates. After the government announced the House of Representatives election for March 5, 2026, the number of people applying for new citizenship certificates has increased. According to Chief District Officer Raju Prasad Paudel, around 100 people come daily to make citizenship certificates and around 150 people come to make national identity cards. “Every day, around 100 people come to make new citizenship certificates. Around 150 come to make national identity cards. Counting everyone who comes for verification, nearly 700 people visit the office,” CDO Paudel said, adding that the pressure of service seekers has surged sharply as the election approaches.
According to Chief District Officer Paudel, there are four reasons behind the rise in service seekers. First, many people have returned to their villages from India due to the festive season; second, new voter registration is underway; third, services have been halted at the Chankheli Area Administration Office; and fourth, service seekers have increased out of concern that physical services might stop after the District Administration Office decided to provide online services in all 77 wards.
He added that with the growing pressure of service seekers, services are being provided on a priority basis to parents of young children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
“We are giving first priority to persons with severe conditions, parents of young children, and senior citizens,” he said. “We have also called in staff from other offices to provide services.”
Online services from 35 wards
The Jajarkot District Administration Office had begun distributing citizenship certificates through an online system from Bheri Municipality starting in September 2025. Online recommendation services for citizenship were introduced in seven local levels of Jajarkot. So far, online services have been launched in 35 out of 77 wards.
According to Chief District Officer Paudel, documents such as citizens’ schedules will remain secure in the online system, and it is expected to help provide faster and more efficient citizenship services to the public. He stated that with the online system, the general public will no longer need to visit the office repeatedly for required documents, as citizenship-related tasks will now be handled through the online platform. With the rollout of the online system, long waiting times to obtain citizenship certificates will come to an end, and the system will support administrative work.
A joint team from INSEC Karnali Province Office and the National Human Rights Commission Karnali Province monitored the services of the District Administration Office and the difficulties faced by citizens on November 13, 2025. During the monitoring, service seekers were found to be satisfied. According to the 2021 census, Jajarkot has a population of 189,360.
