Fourteen senior citizens of Bardibas, Mahottari, are disappointed after not receiving compensation for the land acquired for the railway line. Fourteen households affected by the under-construction railway project in Bardibas Municipality-14 have been waiting for compensation for about five years.

The land of 14 senior citizens has become land ownership certificate in the name of the Railway Department after issuing a 90-day public notice at the initiative of the Railway Department, Kathmandu, and the District Administration Office, Mahottari.

The senior citizens have only one complaint, that even after the land ownership certificate is made in the name of the Railway Department, they have to keep running for compensation. Senior citizens including 93-year-old Ambika Adhikari, 82-year-old Goma Kumari Dahal, 82-year-old Prem Bahadur Budhathoki, 76-year-old former professor Khadga Bahadur Singh, 75-year-old Yama Bahadur Sahi, 78-year-old Bhakta Kumari Sirnet, 77-year-old Ganesh Hamal and 65-year-old Bal Kumari Hamal of Bardibas-14 have been waiting for compensation for years.

Prem Bahadur Budhathoki's son Uddhav complained that the problem was not resolved despite repeated visits to the Railway Department. 'My father is now 82 years old. He is ill. I myself am tired of repeatedly visiting the Railway Department regarding compensation. Now, I have to take my father, who is unable to walk, to the department,' he said.

Former professor Khadga Bahadur Singh said that after the formation of the new government, the issue of compensation was also raised in the Secretariat of the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport. 'We had taken up the matter with the Minister's Secretariat. It has been a month since we were assured that the work would be done within a week, but there has been no progress so far,' he said. He suspects that the work has not progressed due to discussions about retirement, transfer and new civil service arrangements of railway department employees.

Mukesh Dahal, grandson of 82-year-old Goma Kumari Dahal, said that the daily life of senior citizens has become difficult due to the incomplete construction of the railway. 'The compensation has not arrived. The dust, mud and inconvenience at the construction site have affected my grandmother's health,' he said.

According to local Krishna Dahal, his elderly mother has been asking every day, 'When will the compensation arrive?' According to him, the affected family members also say that they are tired of visiting the railway department for years. Mala Khanal said that it is difficult to visit the office repeatedly for compensation as she has to take care of small children at home.

The daughter-in-law of 75-year-old Yama Bahadur Sahi said, 'We have heard that the Senior Citizens Act of Nepal, 2063 BS, prohibits mistreatment of senior citizens, unjust interference with their property, or deprivation of their rights. We are also currently undergoing legal consultation. If senior citizens have been facing injustice for years from state bodies, then we are also discussing the issue of filing a complaint with the relevant body.'

The affected family members say, 'Our parents, grandparents are old. Our children and grandchildren have been running the Railway Department for years. Now we are also tired. If necessary, now all senior citizens may have to go and live in the Railway Department office.'

Locals have demanded that the Government of Nepal, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Railway Department and the District Administration Office immediately finalize the compensation distribution process. The Railway Department, on the other hand, has been reversing its decisions from government to government, which has prolonged the land compensation dispute of 14 senior citizens of Bardibas.

According to a Janakpur-based technician of the Railway Department, 14 households of Bardibas 14 have not been able to receive compensation due to the change in the government and the director general of the department.  Alleging discrimination in the distribution of compensation by the Railways, farmers in Kholsipayni, Bardibas and Bhangaha areas have demanded that the concerned government bodies conduct an impartial investigation into the compensation distributed by the Lalbandi and Janakpur offices in 2079-2080 BS. The farmers have raised complaints that some have received more and some less compensation.