Hundreds of senior citizens, Dalit children, single woman and differently able people have been deprived of social security allowances for past six months in the eastern districts.

Government officials said they could not distribute the allowances on time due to ongoing banda and demonstrations in Tarai districts.

Seventy-four-year-old Bishnu Sharma of Itahari-1 said she could not buy medicines as she is yet to receive the government allowance.

Likewise, 85-year-old Sabitri Gadtaula of Inaruwa-4 said she has been deprived of the allowance for the past six months. In Sunsari, 25,467 people, including around 10,000 in Itahari alone, are deprived of social security allowances.

Purni Devi Yadav, a single woman at Lagadigoth-7 in Siraha, also shared a similar ordeal. “I am unable to buy warm clothes due to the lack of money,” she said, adding that she has not received the allowance for the past five months. Similarly, Kuleshwori Devi Pasman, a senior citizen of Siraha-7, said she is unable to purchase rice, vegetables and other necessary materials due to the delay in allowance distribution.

Bijaya Kumar Mandal, chief of the Social Security Allowance Unit under the Dhanusha District Development Committee (DDC), said they could not distribute the allowance due to the ongoing protests and banda. He, however, informed that budget for social security allowances was released in September.

In Dhanusha, the DDC is planning to provide social security allowances to 13,055 senior citizens, 2,446 Dalit children, around 200 differently able people and eight people from marginalised communities.

There are 14,086 senior citizens, 10,010 Dalit elderly citizens, 15,880 single women, 19,563 Dalits kids and around 400 differently able people in Siraha district. Sanjaya Yadav of the Social Security Allowance Unit in DDC said they are unable to send the money to the VDC officer’s account due to the banda.