Ward chairman staging sit-in for 44 days

By Bijay Kumar Sah,Dhalkebar, Mar. 27: Ward chair of ward-11 of Sabaila Municipality, Dhanusha, Saroj Kumar Yadav has been staging a sit-in for the last 44 days. 

Since February 10, he has been staging sit-in at the entrance of Sabaila Municipality, forwarding various demands, including educational reform, sanitation improvement and staff management, among others. 

He said he has been protesting demanding appointment of teachers in proportion to the number of students, staff management at the ward office, and improvement in sanitation. 

He has also made it clear that he would continue the sit-in until his demands are met.  Emphasising that local governments responsible for ensuring citizens’ fundamental rights, he said he was compelled to stage an indefinite sit-in as his proposals had not been discussed. 

Stating that he had presented his proposals in five municipal assemblies and over 20 executive meetings, he expressed his dissatisfaction that they had not been discussed. He accused Mayor Kariram Yadav of ignoring his demands, leaving him with no choice but to protest. 

He said, “The local government is directly linked to citizens’ fundamental rights. Providing services such as education, healthcare and sanitation is its primary responsibility.”

“However, my proposals were completely ignored, which is why I have been staging this protest for 44 days,” he added.  He further added that the sit-in would continue until the proposals he submitted on various dates were discussed and implemented. 

Ward chairperson Yadav highlighted that the issues he raised were not only relevant to his ward but were common to all wards in the municipality. He pointed out that there was a shortage of more than 70 teachers in proportion to the number of students, severely affecting their education. 

Additionally, he mentioned that ward office lacks a computer operator, making it difficult to provide services to the locals. Manish Kumar Ray, the ward chairperson of Sabaila Municiplaity-9, warned that if the demands raised by ward chairman Yadav were not addressed promptly, he too would close the ward office and join the sit-in protest. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Yada said that some of the genuine demands raised by ward chair Yadav were already being implemented. However, he said that distributing national identity cards and social security allowances door-to-door was not appropriate technically and for security concern.