Musahar Community in Mahottari Awaits Action as Election Fever Brings Politicians Back to Neglected Hamlet

Jaleshwor (Mahottari), January 25: As the House of Representatives election, 2082, approaches, leaders from various political parties have started visiting the doorsteps of the public. Amrit Sada, a leader from the Musahar settlement located in Khaira village, Jaleshwor Municipality-3, the district headquarters of Mahottari, which leaders have not visited even once in the last three years, stated that leaders have now begun visiting the area. According to him, residents who usually go to sleep by 7 or 8 PM are now staying awake until 1 or 2 AM. The Musahars have started staying up late due to the increasing hustle and bustle of leaders in the settlement daily.

Although leaders have started distributing assurances in this Musahar settlement, just like in previous elections, the residents of this settlement do not have faith that the leaders will do anything. They say they participate in political party programs just to listen to the leaders' assurances, as before, and raise their long-standing demands. "Leaders who visited this settlement during the 2079 elections won by distributing assurances of bringing dozens of plans and programs for the Musahar community after winning. But those leaders have not been able to visit the Musahar settlement even for a day. Now, the voters in the Musahar settlement express sorrow, saying, 'The color of the leader changed, but the settlement did not,'" said leader Amrit. "I vote for leaders with the hope that land deeds will be issued in every election. But no leader has issued land deeds for the Musahars so far. Now, we plan to vote only after careful consideration in this election," he added.

The Musahar community in Khaira village, located just one kilometer from Jaleshwor Bazaar, the district headquarters of Mahottari, recounts experiences where leaders ignore them when they go to meet them, refuse to listen to them, and do not cooperate even when they approach them with work. Tetari Sada, a 63-year-old Musahar woman from the settlement, lamented, "Even when the Musahars faced adversity, the elected representatives would not come to the settlement when called. They wouldn't answer the phone and would evade the issues when we explained our problems." However, the same settlement is now seeing a regular influx of leaders. As the election date nears, leaders are coming daily and starting speeches about bringing a wave of development to the community if they win the upcoming election with the votes of the Musahars. Another resident, 73-year-old Siliya Sada, stated that Musahar voters are now too busy listening to the leaders' speeches.

There is a settlement of about 90 Musahar households in Jaleshwor Municipality-3, Khaira village. But they lack both toilet facilities and easy access to drinking water. There is only one drinking water pipe (hand pump) for the entire settlement, and there is one toilet for every 8 to 10 houses, which is only three rings deep. This fills up in one or two months, after which locals are forced to defecate in the forest, as stated by local resident Sukumariya Sada, 48. According to Sukumariya, they go to listen to leaders' speeches in every election, trusting them and voting, as leaders distribute assurances of development in the settlement, but the long-standing needs for drinking water, drains, and roads in the settlement remain unmet. Local Laddu Sada stated that although they vote for leaders with the hope that houses, drinking water pipes, schools, and drains will be built in every election, none of these have materialized so far.

This Jaleshwor Municipality, connected to the Indian border, is the lowest-lying area in Mahottari district. During the monsoon, water enters every house. The Musahar settlement is on public land. In this settlement of 90 households, about 175 people do not even have citizenship, yet they have been living here for generations. Because the fathers do not have citizenship, the children's birth registrations cannot be done, causing problems for the children in this settlement to attend school. Local Arjun Sada says, "There is only one water tap (drinking water pipe) in the settlement. When this is insufficient, there is a severe shortage of water in the summer. There is a constant fear of becoming homeless due to the lack of land deeds. Their houses get flooded during the monsoon because there are no drains. Therefore, in every election, they raise these demands and vote for the leader who gives the most assurances. But their demands have not been fulfilled yet."

Although electricity has reached the entire Khaira village, the Musahar settlement within the village has remained in darkness for years. Due to poverty and destitution, many could not afford to install electricity connections, and even the one or two who wished to install them could not get meters because they lack land deeds for the land they occupy. Electricity is available in the village, but the electricity office does not provide meters to those without land deeds. Local Siria Sada says, "The Musahar settlement is still the same. Everyone here lives in constant deprivation. Leaders only come to this settlement during elections. After getting votes, the leaders' colors change, but the settlement's color does not. In every election, leaders only collect votes from the settlement by giving false assurances."

Even though the Government of Nepal has declared the country open-defecation free, the lack of toilets in this settlement forces people to defecate in the open. Local Biru Sada complains that all leaders have assured them of building public toilets in the settlement, but none have fulfilled this promise. They cultivate land owned by landlords on a sharecropping basis, but the fields get flooded during the monsoon. When there is no rain, drought destroys the crops. However, local Bimalesh Sada complained that no one has taken initiative to manage this or feed the hungry poor. He said that leaders come to the settlement during voting time acting as if they will do everything for them, but no one helps.

This settlement falls under House of Representatives Constituency No. 3 of the district. In the 2074 and 2079 elections, then-Lospa Nepal Chairman Mahantha Thakur was elected as the Member of the House of Representatives from this constituency. The birth registration of one hundred five children in this impoverished settlement has not been done. Local Birju Sada lamented that they have repeatedly approached the ward office, the municipality office, and their provincial and federal MPs for this, but they have not received help from anywhere. Jibchhi Sada stated that due to the lack of birth registration, the children in this settlement are deprived of the nutrition allowance provided by the Government of Nepal, other child-related benefits, and free education. For the upcoming House of Representatives election on Falgun 21, 39 candidates, including those from various political parties and independents, have filed nominations from Mahottari District Constituency No. 3 in this area.

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