National
Candidates promise jobs in village hit by labour flight
In Accham’s Thuwa Village of Chaurpati Rural Municipality, it is hard to find young adult males, as most of them work in Indian cities to support their families.Menuka Dhungana
In Accham’s Thuwa Village of Chaurpati Rural Municipality, it is hard to find young adult males, as most of them work in Indian cities to support their families.
Since there are no job prospects in the village, labour flight among young men is very high here, with at least three members of every household working in India.
With election fever heating up, candidates visiting the village are trying to woo people with the promise of creating jobs.
“All candidates tell us that they are going to create jobs here. But they do not tell us how,” said Suntala BK, a local woman.
Another local Kari BK said the prospect of local job creation in the village was limited.
“Farming is out of the question because not much grows in this part of the district. People cannot get jobs here that is why men from the village go to India. This has been going on for a long time,” she said.
Kari’s husband and their three sons are currently working in India.
To garner maximum number of votes, some candidates are allegedly offering to foot the travel expenses of their prospective to return home for the elections.
“This trend is not limited to our village alone. There are several places where in Achham where most of the adult male population are abroad for employment, where parties and their candidates are selling the same promise of ending labour flight,” a local said.