The freed haliyas of Lorkha in Patan4 have declared on December 26 that they would be accepting the identity card of freed haliya until the government solves their problem of drinking water.

The haliyas in the settlement were declared free by the government but seemingly for them, the need of drinking water is more urgent that the identity cards.

The people of the settlement have been facing the problem for a long time. They said though they approached all the concerned authorities, their problem remained untouched.

One freed haliya Phundi Sarki said they decided to boycott the distribution in protest of the neglect.

According to Land Revenue Office, Baitadi, the office was collecting applications from the free haliyas and that nearly 4,000 haliyas, on the basis of previous statistics, are liable for the identity cards.