The Dhurmus Suntali Foundation handed over an integrated settlement built for the Musahar community in Bardibas Municipality-1, Mahottari, on the occasion of New Year on Friday.

Renowned comic duo Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya were invited to the handover ceremony, where they presented house keys to Biltu Sadaya Musahar, the appointed chairman of

the Integrated Musahar Settlement Consumers’ Committee. Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi and Sitaram Kattel and Kunjana Ghimire of the foundation were also present at the ceremony.

Fifty houses, each with three rooms, an attic, running water facility, toilet and cooking gas; one community building, two public toilets, a view tower and a temple were presented to the Musahar community. Three non-Musahar families living with the community also received new homes.

Each house cost Rs 800,000 to build and it took around Rs 50 million to build the settlement.

Arjun Prasad Neupane, the project manager, said the foundation had received around Rs 63 million in donations both from inside and outside the country to build new homes for the poor Musahar people.

Kattel and Ghimire, who shot to fame with their TV characters Dhurmus and Suntali, had established the foundation to help the victims of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. 

The foundation had earlier built settlement for the earthquake-displaced families in Sindhpalchok district.