Jayaprithvi Municipality in Bajhang district has paid off the debts of 15 Badi families.

The municipal office on Thursday paid a total of Rs 840,000 that the Badi families owed to the local money lenders.

Read: Nepal’s Badi community finds itself in a bottomless pit of despair

Birendra Bahadur Khadka, mayor of the municipality, said the municipality decided to pay off the debts of the Badi families living in Chainpur considering their poor economic conditions.

“Most of them don’t have any source of income. We hope that they will start some income-generating enterprises and live a debt-free life,” said Khadka.

According to him, the municipality also plans to run various income-generating programmes targetting the Badi people to make them financially independent.

The municipality paid off the loans of the Badi families on a condition that they would not seek further loans.

Sixmonths ago, the government had also constructed houses and handed them over to impoverished Badi families under the People’s Housing Programme. 

Dal Bahadur Bista, the chairman of Jayaprithvi Municipality Ward No. 10, said some Badi families have moved into a model settlement built in the municipality.

Ramesh Badi said the money lenders had started harassing his family for not paying up the loan.

“We were not in a condition to pay the money back. Some money lenders even padlocked our houses. That’s why we requested the local unit for help,” he said.

According tothe 2011 census, there are 38,603 Badis living across the country. Badi settlements are spread across the midwestern districts, primarily in Kailali, Bardia, Surkhet, Bajhang, Salyan and Dang.

On January 7, 2009, the Cabinet decided to rehabilitate the Badi community by giving them land and training them with income-generating skills.