"We started facing difficulties in even making the ends meet. The government provided nothing. How can we raise the family in such conditions?" asked Raute chief of Sirsha-6, Rajyouda, Nara Bahadur Rawat, who migrated to Khildwari in Uttaranchal around a month ago. [break]
"The Indian government has made good provision of food and lodging to us in Uttaranchal and we even have a separate community there. We stay wherever we find comfort," Rawat explained.
Having found difficulties in mingling with the society, more than 20 families have migrated to Khildwari, Chuka, Chakkarpur, and Dharchula in search of Raute community, said locals. Then National Forest Improvement Commission had settled around 40 Raute families in Jogbuda-1 and 50 in Sirsha-6 in 1983 from different parts of forest in Baitadi, providing each family with one and a half bigha of land. But now, there are just 30 families in Sirsha-6 and 20 in Jogbuda-1.
Then National Forest Improvement Commission had settled around 40 Raute families in Jogbuda-1 and 50 in Sirsha-6 in 1983 from different parts of forest in Baitadi, providing each family with one and a half bigha of land. But now, there are just 30 families in Sirsha-6 and 20 in Jogbuda-1.
They survived on carpentry, cutting trees of forests but they don´t have anything to do now after the authorities banned cutting of trees. Moreover, they were outnumbered by others who started to settle in Raute community. "They have now started migrating to India selling their land at a cheaper price after the influx of non-Rautes," said a local Nepali Congress leader, Kailash Kumar Pandey.
"They have been attracted to India as the Indian government has provided land for free and food at a very subsidized rate," Pandey reasoned. Rautes claim that the Indian government provides them with rice, dal and other food materials at IRs 2 per kg. "Why should we not migrate to India when we get food at a cheaper rate and get allowances in addition," argues Surendra Rawat.
VDC secretary of Sirsha Megh Raj Upadhyaya said Rautes have started migrating to India due to subsidy provided by the Indian government even if they get work here in Nepal as well. "Many of them now come here only to collect the monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 provided by the Nepal government," Upadhyaya said.
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