Meena Tharu, 43, of Gulariya-9, Tepari, said that she took a loan of 350,000 from a local savings group and relatives for her son's treatment and has now joined the election police to repay the same loan.
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There was a crowd of people applying for recruitment to the election police in the District Police Office premises since Sunday morning. Standing in a long line with documents in hand and a 15-month-old baby in her arms was Meena Tharu, 43, of Gulariya-9, Tepari. In the freezing cold, the baby and her face looked less excited and more gloomy. Among those who came to submit their applications, she was clearly immersed in worry.
Many said that they had come to the Election Police for a short period of time after having trouble paying for food due to lack of income. However, Meena's answer was different. Meena said that she had come to the Election Police with her child after consulting a family.
'It is not my desire to go to the Election Police with my child, it is a compulsion,' she said. 'I have incurred a lot of debt for my son's treatment, and my husband could not pay it with the money he earned.' She said that she wanted to join to pay off that debt. She has the experience of being a 'field policeman' in the last House of Representatives election. 'If I had the chance now, I would have helped my husband pay off the debt,' she said.
She said that the family's financial situation is critical. Currently, her family is living on the land they got as freed Kamaiyas. When that land was divided, she only had 10 acres of land. She has four daughters and one son.
She said that she could not afford to send her eldest daughter to school and got her married off. She said that her younger daughter is 8, her older daughter is 4 and her younger daughter is in 2nd grade in the village school. ‘When my son was 7 months old, he became very sick. When he was examined, it was found that his intestines were twisted,’ she said. ‘Then he took a loan and had his intestines operated on.’ She said that she had taken a loan of 350,000 from a local savings group and relatives for the operation. She said that she was now struggling to repay the same loan.
Her husband has gone to work in Butwal, Rupandehi. ‘Now he will come home to celebrate Maghi,’ she said. ‘This time too, I have come to submit my application after consulting my family.’ If he is recruited, it has been advised that the mother-in-law will take care of her son.
She said that she has already decided to leave her son in her mother-in-law’s care and go to fulfill her duties. She says she understands her duties because she worked as a temporary police officer in the last election. 'I believe that this time too, I will get an opportunity,' she said.
District Police DSP Devendra Kumar Malla said that applications have been opened for 1,836 people in the district. 'As of Saturday evening, 750 people have submitted their applications,' he said. Unemployed youth in the district are attracted to the election police. There has been a crowd in front of the District Police since the day the recruitment was opened.
