It is very difficult for Upper Dolpali to obtain citizenship due to the seven-day walk to the district headquarters, risk, debt, and language barrier.
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There are no road facilities up to Upper Dolpa. It takes up to a week to walk to reach the district headquarters. For this, the locals are forced to earn a good amount of money.
Locals of Dolpobuddha, She-Phoksundo and Chharka Tangsong rural municipalities have to face various problems to obtain citizenship.
‘You have to overcome death while walking down to the district headquarters. In the meantime, you have to cross high mountains. Not only that, you have to cross the ropes dug into the cliffs that are eye-catching,’ said Pemma Chhewang Gurung, a young man from Dolpobuddha-3 taxi, ‘Some people get sick. They even lose their lives by falling from the cliff. In the rainy season, there is an equal chance of being swept away while crossing the river. In winter, there is a risk of cold and landslides.’
Gurung said that it costs 30-40 thousand to reach Dunai from Upper Dolpa and return to obtain citizenship. Daily food and lodging expenses are incurred in the district headquarters. He said that the expenses incurred in this way are borne by the poor and needy by taking out loans.
Another major problem for Upper Dolpa residents is language. When employees at the District Administration Office inquire in Nepali, they speak in their native language. Tenjen Thuknet Gurung of Dolpobuddha-3 said that this confusion also causes problems. He said that it took eight days to travel to the district headquarters to obtain citizenship. He only obtained citizenship last Thursday.
'Even if you were born in this country, it is very expensive for Upper Dolpa residents to become Nepali citizens. My father and I have already obtained my citizenship and returned home. The travel and accommodation expenses alone are around 30 thousand,' he said. He said that due to such hassles, some Upper Dolpa residents have not even obtained citizenship.
He said that it would be a great relief if the government had established an area administration office and made arrangements to obtain citizenship in Upper Dolpa itself.
According to Assistant Chief District Officer Ramesh Paudel, the number of people coming from Upper Dolpa to obtain citizenship has increased in recent days. He said that service recipients from Upper Dolpa have been complaining that they have spent twenty thousand rupees just to get citizenship.
'The Ministry of Finance has ensured the resources to set up an area administration in Dhoma, Upper Dolpa,' Paudel said, 'From next year, the situation of people from Upper Dolpa having to go to the district headquarters to obtain citizenship will end.'
