Kathmandu, September 10
Months after Nepal officially ‘corrected’ its political map to incorporate the encroached land of the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura region, the local government covering the region has started efforts to give Nepali citizenship to the locals there.
Byas rural municipality has included a plan to distribute Nepali citizenship certificates to locals of Nabi, Kuti and Gunji villages in its annual policy and programme for the current fiscal year.
The local government’s chief Dilip Singh Budhathoki says no resident of this area, however, applied for the citizenship so far.
Historical documents say those residing in these villages had cast their votes in Nepal’s first general elections in 1959 and they were included in 1961 census also. Until the late 1970s, they used to pay land revenues to the government of Nepal.
