14 years on, freed bonded ploughmen wait for change in living conditions

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By Dil Bahadur Singh, Doti, Sep 6: It has been 14 years since the abolishment of bonded ploughmen, but the living conditions of the victims of the Haliya Pratha (the practice of keeping bonded ploughmen) have not changed much.

Considered the remnants of the slavery system, the ploughmen were liberated on 6 September 2008.

The Haliya Pratha was an agricultural bonded labour practiced in the far western hills of Nepal that affected seasonal labourers.

The Government announced the abolishment of the Haliya system from 12 districts of the country on September 6, 1978, and exempted them from the debts if any to the landlords.

Gorakh Bahadur Sarki, a rights activist, said, "Even though the bonded plowmen have been freed, there are no changes in their living standards. They are struggling even to make their ends meet."

It is because the issues of the bonded plowmen have not been prioritized, as a result, there has been no improvement in their living circumstances.


Nari Chanara, National Society of Liberated Ploughmen, said that some of the freed bonded plowmen have not received the 'Bonded Labor Identity Card' yet.

He said, "Some of the former bonded laborers were not incorporated in data collection due to various reasons. Those who do not have an identity card are not able to benefit from the freed bonded labourer rehabilitation program.

14,242 families of the total 16,953 families from 12 districts of the Sudurpaschim Province and the Karnali Province have received the identity cards. As many as 441 families of bonded laborers have not received identity cards despite having been verified and 1,499 families are yet to be verified.

A total of 2,711 families are yet to be rehabilitated, while 1,104 families have not received a second installment under the freed bonded labour rehabilitation program.

Ram Bahadur Damai, a local from Sikhar Municipality-7, Doti said that some of the freed bonded plowmen were compelled to live the life of bonded plowmen because of a lack of rehabilitation as promised.

The National Federation of the Freed Bonded Labour issued a press release, demanding to be serious about completing the education, health, and employment of the freed plowmen timely, and delivering the commitments made by the government.

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