Service recipients, including the Chandrapur-1 ward chairperson, sat on a sit-in at the main gate of the area administration office on Sunday.
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Service recipients of Chandrapur Municipality-1 staged a sit-in at the Area Administration Office of Chandranigahapur on Sunday, saying they have not been able to obtain citizenship even after applying for almost a month.
Service recipients, including the ward chairman of Chandrapur-1, sat on a dharna at the main gate of the District Administration Office on Sunday.
Nimalamhu Bhutia of Chandrapur-1 said that she was on a dharna, saying that despite a month of protesting, the District Administration Chief Madhav Prasad Sharma had made various excuses and made her suffer. ‘It has been a month since I submitted my application. I am getting tired of running for citizenship,’ she said, ‘This has gone too far. How can it be right to make service recipients suffer like this?’
The District Administration Office had written to Nimalamhu on Magh 20 asking why she was not granted citizenship and to make arrangements to grant citizenship from the same office. Nimalamhu said that the District Administration Chief Sharma disobeyed the letter and said that he would not grant citizenship under any circumstances. Nimalamhu said that she tried to evade the application by claiming that she could obtain citizenship from the District Administration Office, Gaur.
After the area administration chief Sharma refused to grant citizenship, the local people including ward chairman Balram Raut and the petitioner Nimalamhu sat on a dharna. Ward chairman Raut said that the area administration chief Sharma did not seek to grant citizenship with the intention of causing trouble. They allege that the citizenship was not granted despite completing all the procedures after being recommended by the ward office. After sitting on the dharna for about half an hour, they reached the chief's office and gave an ultimatum until 12 noon on Monday.
Nimalamhu's father Pemba Tshiring Bhutia had been missing since Bhadra 10, 2059. Nimalamhu's mother Anumaya Tamang had filed an application in the Gaur District Court for a judicial declaration of disappearance or death. The court also issued a judicial declaration on Magh 6 stating that Nimalamhu's father Pemba was dead or missing.
The ward office also has a birth certificate for Nimalamhu dated 2059 Jestha 5. The district court has also certified the relationship between Pemba and Anumaya as husband and wife. Nimalamhu said that the area administration has set a date for granting citizenship on the basis of descent from the mother's name until the next date.
Area Administration Chief Sharma said that a decision on granting citizenship to him will be taken only after consulting the Chief District Officer.
Earlier, Ramvishwas Sah, 45, and his son Rupesh of Chandrapur Municipality-7 Nayabasti were severely criticized for not being able to obtain citizenship from the Area Administration Office Chandranigahpur even after nine days of visiting. After this news became public, Area Administration Chief Sharma granted citizenship to Sah.
