Recent Activities

An interaction program has been organized by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) among the stakeholders on the right to housing in Mithila Municipality on July 5, 2021.

Speaking on the occasion, Tara Lama Basnet, Deputy Chief of Mithila Municipality, said that despite the problems in the field of education, health, food and housing in the municipality, we are taking the initiative to address such problems.

She said that in order to uplift the living standard of the people construction work of Dalit houses is underway in ward no. 3 of the district. She further added that fifty-two families of the needy, Dalit and squatters were provided land for settlement.

Deputy Chief Lama said that the municipality is planning to provide land for housing soon as landless and squatters are being identified in the city and households are also being surveyed by the central government.

Laxmi Mahato, the chairperson of ward no. 1, said that 52 families of landless farmers were settled by building houses on 4 bighas of land left by the river.

According to Basnet, with a budget of 1.5 million, the landless farmers were rehabilitated in the settlement and the provincial government had built a public porch and also managed drinking water and electricity in the settlement.

Sitaram Mahato, Chairperson of Human Rights Watch Group of Mithila Municipality said that the human rights condition of the municipality is not satisfactory.

Most of the families of the municipality are middle class therefore the municipality and government need to invest more in the field of education, health, food and housing.

Bina Kadari, a social worker of Mithila Municipality, complained that most of the households in Mithila Municipality do not even have access to clean drinking water.

She said the municipality’s ward number 6 and 7 were supplied with purified water from a nearby river but due to flood and landslide, the water is not drinkable. She also said that although the majority of the families of the municipality were underprivileged and had been living in small cottages, the municipality and the state was not able to invest in them.

The settlement of the north side from the Mahendra highway has been facing the terror of wild elephants annually, said Lalita Devi Mahato. She added the underprivileged and needy do not have concrete houses and the elephants had been attacking the locals and destroying their cottages.

She stressed the need for the municipality to help the underprivileged, destitute, Dalits and squatters by providing them food, gas and housing at concessional rates. A local Mahamaya BK Rasaili said that she has been living on public land as now she is a squatter.

Ajita Devkota, secretary of Mithila Municipality ward no. 7 said the municipality has been investing in the sector of health, education and housing.

Dipendra Prasad Singh