Rural municipality wards without secretaries
RUKUM, Sept 11: None of the wards of Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality in eastern Rukum has a secretary. Even though secretaries have been appointed for theses wards, they have not resumed office citing 'remoteness' of the areas."It is not that they were not appointed. But nobody is in their workplace. No secretaries in these wards," said Om Prakash Gharti, chairperson of the rural municipality.
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"They think they can't work in remote areas. They are living elsewhere," he added.According to Gharti, few secretaries had showed up earlier. But they left soon. "A few had come earlier. And one secretary was looking after two, three wards. But that did not last long," said Gharti. "Even they left and they are not coming back," he added.The secretaries had left 'without informing' Gharti. One had however got a transfer.Rabindra Budha, chief administrative officer at the rural municipality, stated that the absence of secretaries has hit regular services of the wards hard.
"A secretary has a huge responsibility. When that is not fulfilled, people do not get regular services. Apart from that, many other administrative works have been pending," he said. "It is a very sorry state," he added.Budha further stated that most of the wards are understaffed. This has put the service seekers at the receiving end."In the absence of secretaries, peons are working. Somewhere, there is only the ward chief, and he or she is handling all the duties," Budha informed.He added that the situation has been reported to the government departments and ministries concerned.
He however speculated that the 'dominance of Magar population might have made it difficult for the staffers to deliver'. "There is a problem of language and lifestyle. If you don't understand or communicate in the Magar language, it is not easy for you. If you don't love the culture, you are not at ease. That is also a reason why people of other communities find it a bit hard here," he stated.
