Ten-year-old Laxmi Chaudhary, a freed Kamlari (indentured girl child labourer) at Shankarpur VDC-4 in the district, goes to school wearing thin clothes even during the bone-chilling weather.

She wears the same clothes while staying in school’s hostel as well. She was admitted to the Purna Higher Secondary School at Bhimdutta Municipality-12 after being rescued from Kaswa village last year. She had worked there as a Kamlari for two years.

During an inspection by government officials and some NGOs representatives on Saturday, Laxmi complained that freed Kamlaris were left helpless in the cold weather. “We have been compelled to wear a set of thin clothes even during this winter,” she said.

Laxmi was left helpless as her father died while working as a daily wage worker in India and her mother married with another man.

There are 47 freed Kamlari students in the school’s hostel and all of them do not have warm clothes. Niru Chaudhary, another freed Kamlari, said they do not even have proper beddings in the hostel.

Headmaster Parsuram Panta said a majority of ex-Kamlaris have been deprived of warm clothes. “Seven new ex-Kamlaris in the school are facing more difficulties than other,” he said.

He said the students had received some warm clothes or beddings from donors but they all have worn out. “The school cannot afford to buy warm clothes for the needy students as the amount provided by the government is spent in purchasing foodstuffs and managing other things in the hostel,” he added.