GORKHA, May 4: Ajirkot and Siranchowk rural municipalities of Gorkha have not provided the social security allowances for the past six months.
Officials said that the allowances were not provided due to budget insufficiency in the rural municipalities, due to the absence of municipality officials and lack of their efficiency to reach out to every ward within a limited period of time.
Chief Administrative Officer of Siranchowk Rural Municipality, Bhesh Bahadur Kunwar said that the rule of depositing the allowance amount in the recipient's account is being practiced.
Social security allowance not distributed since the past six mo...
The allowances meant for people with disability, single women and senior citizens were delayed by months after banks were unable to visit the wards and open bank accounts of the recipients. “We are planning to provide the allowances for eight months in one go,” said Kunwar.
Ajirkot Rural Municipality officials claimed that they couldn't distribute the allowances due to insufficient budget. Vice chairperson of the municipality, Chandra Maya Gurung said allowances of eight months will be distributed in one go.
Although the recently-elected local government representatives had assured the locals of distributing the allowances at their doorsteps, now the villagers are facing the hassle of visiting the banks to collect the allowances. The locals said the representatives' apathy has saddened them.
Acknowledging the demands of the locals, chairperson of Senior Citizens Association, Mohan Lal Shrestha, urged the government to make an easy access for receiving the monthly allowances.
“It is quite troublesome for the people with disabilities and elderly citizens to travel all the way to the district headquarters to collect the amount. We would like to request the local authorities to hand over the amount at our homes,” added Shrestha.