Former bonded labourers call for addressing their demands

Kathmandu, April 17: The National Agriculture Bonded Labourers Struggle Committee has urged the Land Problem Resolution Commission to address their demands related to land.     

At an interaction held at the Commission's office here today, the committee representatives urged the implementation of the commitments and agreements made in the past to address the problems of the freed agriculture bonded workers including harwa charuwa, haliya, kamaiya and kamlari.     

The team led by the Committee Coordinator, Darshan Lal Mandal, drew attention of the commission about their demands, including to adopt agriculture bonded workers-friendly policy and not charge any fee while collecting and verifying the data of the landless, address unorganized settlements and squatters by distributing them with land.     

The Committee has demanded that at least two katha of land for housing and eight katha for farming should be managed in the places where they are currently living, along with education, health and employment opportunities.     

Similarly, it has demanded to clarify the problems seen in the scope of the Commission and implement the agreements reached between the Government of Nepal and the liberated bonded labourers.     

On the occasion, a joint letter of attention signed by the coordinator of the struggle committee and the president of the National Free Harwacharwa Rights Forum, President of the National Free Haliya Society Federation Ishwor Sunar, President of the Freed Kamaiya Society Pashupati Chaudhary, President of the Freed Kamlari Development Forum Hiramoti Chaudhary, President of the Kamaiya Mahila Jagran Samaj, Nepal, Krishna Tharu, President of the Housing and Land Rights Union Rajuram Bhol, and Vice President of the RDN Shyam Sunar was submitted to the commission, said Ganesh Bishwakarma, patron of the Rastriya Dalit Network Nepal.(RSS)