Model houses for poor and homeless families

Sample houses have been handed over to destitute and homeless families in Sainamina Municipality of Rupandehi.

The municipality handed over the sample settlement on Thursday after selecting the extremely poor families who have been living in Sainamina for years but are homeless. The Sainamina Municipality had constructed a model settlement on the bank of Kanchan Khola in Ward No. 11 for the families who may be displaced during the construction of the roundabout.

The model house, built at 70 percent cost-sharing of the Terai-Madhes Prosperity Program and 30 percent cost of the municipality, has one toilet and three rooms. Arun Khanal, an engineer of the municipality, informed that the construction of the settlement started in the Fiscal Year 2075/76 with a budget of Rs. Rs. 186.57 million. Nine of the 10 houses constructed by the municipality were handed over on Thursday. 

Municipal Officer Santa Kumar Chaudhary informed that the poorest families from each ward of the municipality have been selected and handed over their houses. The municipality had formed a committee comprising Santa Kumar Chaudhary and Registration Officer Keshav Raj Aryal under the coordination of Deputy Chief Bina Rana to select the needy families. The houses were handed over to the families on the recommendation of the ward office and the committee. 

Rajkumari Tharu, who was displaced by demolishing a small house in Ward No. 5 during the construction of the roundabout, said that she was happy after the municipality built the house. She said that the municipality should provide shelter to the families who have lost their homes during the development process.

Handing over the houses to the destitute families, Khim Lal Bhattarai, Leader of the Main Opposition Party of the CPN (UML) in the National Assembly, said that the government should be with the people in all their grievances. Mayor Chitra Bahadur Karki informed that the municipality has made a procedure to charge Rs. 100 monthly from the handed-over families.