Most of the youth from the slum have already left for India for work. Some of the youth who went to India months ago have not been able to return due to lack of leave, while others have not been able to return home due to lack of money due to lack of work.
What you should know
The Badi community settlement in Gunyalphanta, Krishnapur Municipality-2, Kanchanpur lacks the excitement of Tihar. Even when the excitement of Diwali is spreading across the country, the Badi settlement remains deserted.
Only women, children and the elderly remain in this slum. Most of the youth of the slum have gone to India for work. Some of the youth who went to India months ago have not been able to return due to lack of leave, while others have not been able to come home due to lack of money due to lack of work.
Ratna Kumal (Badi) of the slum said that it does not matter even if festivals come as it is difficult to get food for breakfast and dinner. 'Everyone has the desire to eat sweets and wear new clothes, but since it is difficult to feed their stomachs, they have not felt the arrival of festivals including Tihar,' she said.
Similarly, Shanti Kumal, an elderly woman of the slum, is now taking care of her grandchildren. Her son and daughter-in-law have gone to India for work. 'They had said they would return for Tihar, but they could not come because they did not get their salary,' she said.
According to Padam Bahadur Rana (Badi), out of 62 households in the settlement, only about 25 families remain. The rest have all gone to India for work. 'The families of the Badi community have only half a katha or one katha of land, and we have built houses there,' he said. 'We are forced to lock our houses and move around because we have no place to earn.'
The traditional professions of making pottery, making madals, and dancing and singing at festivals like weddings have now disappeared. According to him, the Badi community has lost its source of income as the business has not been able to survive.
'The government should create income-generating employment opportunities for the Badi community,' he said. 'But no one from the center to the local level has shown interest in improving our living standards.' He complained that the Badi community is still deprived of fundamental rights such as education, health, and employment as stipulated in the constitution.
Badi families are gradually facing the risk of displacement as the Vanahara River near the settlement erodes their land every year. 'Fear of the river during the rainy season, worry about feeding our families during the dry season, this is how our lives are,' said Ratna Kumal.
Dalit rights activist Shivi Luhar said that efforts to make the Badi community self-reliant through self-employment, skill-based training and income-based programs would improve their lives. 'The attention of all three levels of government needs to be paid to this,' he said.
