According to the chairperson of the centre, Nagendra Dhimal, the recount of the Dhimal population was felt necessary because the current census report prepared by the government was not based on reality and needed a lot of re-working. [break]
´The report doesn"t include all people from the Dhimal communities; it is an incomplete report. Moreover, we are worshippers of nature but the report has designated us as Hindus, which is not correct,´ said Nagendra Dhimal.
´The census report says there are only 26,000 Dhimal people but as a matter of fact their population is more than that, which shows that the government census was not very thorough when it came to the Dhimal settlements,´ added Nagendra.
Adding to Nagendra"s comment, coordinator of the center Tej Bahadur Dhimal said work involving the population recount has already started. ´We believe that the census report, which is prepared once in 10 years, has covered the Dhimal population haphazardly and we are in the process of bringing out an authentic report based on a meticulous survey,´ said Tej Bahadur.
´We want all the Dhimal people settled in the remote parts of the country to be included in the census report,´ added Tej.
The retaking of the census, which started around two months ago, was now in full swing and hopefully the report would be ready by the end of next month, he said. ´For the purpose, well trained students have been deployed at various Dhimal communities, and all of them are S.L.C. graduates,´ he said.
According to Tej, the survey form seeks information on age, educational level and employment status, among other things.
´Besides these, we also collect information about their property holdings and whether they have been making use of toilets or not. We make sure they are receiving water and electricity on a regular basis,´ added Tej.
A majority of the Dhimal population is settled at Damak.
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