Santhal Integrated Settlement to be inaugurated by Prime Minister today

BIRATNAGAR: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is inaugurating the construction of an integrated settlement of the Santhal ethnic group on the banks of Ratoholi Kholsi in Urlabari of Morang today. It will be Nepal’s most attractive and exemplary integrated settlement.

The Ministry of Urban Development is going to construct it. The Ministry has prepared a master plan for the construction of an integrated Santhal slum with the special interest of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari. Urlabari is also the hometown of the late Madan Bhandari. The Deputy Mayor of the Municipality is the President’s brother-in-law.

Preparations are underway to develop an integrated settlement of Santhal on the banks of Ratoholi Kholsi in Urlabari Municipality. According to a survey conducted in the community for the Santhal Integrated Slum Development Program, 106 families of Santhal and 26 families of Urao caste do not have land in the municipality and 27 families of Santhal caste cannot build their own land.

At present, the ministry is constructing a total of 132 houses of 26 Urao and 106 Santhal castes on the banks of Ratoholi Kholsi. It is stated that Rs 300 million will be spent on the construction of the entire slum.

According to the Department of Integrated Slum Development Procedure 2075, the construction of the Santhal slum using local technology, skills and materials will provide at least two hundred rooms, one kitchen and one toilet for each family. For the overall settlement, the master plan has been designed to construct roads, drinking water, recreation places, creek protection, sanitation, child development centres, community buildings etc. under other social and economic infrastructures required.

The Ministry has decided to build the settlement on the land of Ratoholi Kholsi on the land of Ratoholi Kholsi, Bakraha Khola, Ratoholi Pari, Mawa Khola and Nari Shilpa Kendra.