CHENNAI: Nepalis in Chennai are being denied of even basic amenities made available by the State to the poor, as many of their ration cards were confiscated by government agencies apparently because they did not have the right to own one, according to the representative of Nepali community.
Mahendra Basyalm, secretary of Mool Pravah Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj, narrated several incidents to Express where Nepalis residing in several parts of the city lost their ration cards to local authorities, when they visited the PDS outlets to get their entitled food grain.
“There were at least 25 Nepali families residing in Kumar Nagar, Kelambakkam, whose ration cards were confiscated by the local officials about five months ago. They said that the families did not have the right to own a ration card,” said Mahendra. “Similarly, several such instances in Royapuram also came to our notice a few months ago,” he added.
“We had brought the issue to the commissioner’s notice following, which some of them got back their ration cards but many are still waiting,” said Mahendra.
However, as per the 1950 Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty, Nepalis were allowed to settle in any part of the country and practice any profession they wanted, but the salient features of the Treaty had not been put into practice, he alleged. “We don’t know whether the government is doing this or the local authorities. We want the same kind of rights that Indians enjoy in Nepal,” he added.
The ration card was vital for many Nepali families living here as they were not that well off and had to depend on subsided food. Besides, they required ration card for opening bank accounts or for claiming any other government entitlement, he said.
Several such issues were discussed in the conference of Mool Pravah Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj held here on Sunday. About 1,000 members of the association from 24 different districts spread across south India participated. A new committee has been formed with 43 members to take up the issue and find a solution. There are about 20,000 Nepalis in city.