Bharatpur, July 10: Twenty-two houses have been built under the Housing Programme at Ichchhakamana rural municipality of Chitwan.    

The houses are built from the conditional grant of Rs 15 million provided by the federal government.    

Rural municipality chairman Dan Bahadur Gurung handed over the keys for the houses amidst a programme organized at ward no 7 on Tuesday.    

He shared information that the indigent Chepang people from seven wards in rural municipality would be selected for the houses. "The local level had requested the federal government for the grant by submitting a construction plan and received it to realize the undertaking," he reminded, adding that the houses would be selected by the respective wards and settlements.    

However, the concerned beneficiaries would be responsible to even out the courtyard.    

The houses have tin roofs.    

Vice Chairman of the rural municipality, Maya Silwal, informed that the houses were built for the families which have difficulty to manage daily life. Each house has two rooms.    

She thanked the company which completed the work on time.     

Five houses are built for ward no 1, two each for ward no 2, 4, and 5, three for ward no 6 and six for ward no 7.    

Chief administrative officer Chandra Kanta Basnet informed that the Chepang House Programme was given continuity for the coming fiscal year too.    

Those without having houses and with thatch-roof houses were prioritized to be beneficiaries of the scheme.    

For the coming year, the local level has already allocated Rs 33 million for the same scheme.    

With this, one of the possible beneficiaries, Aitaram Praja from Sundarbasti of Ichchhakamana-7, exuded happiness, saying the new house fulfilled his dream of staying in a structure that protects his family from heat and rains. The two-room house is a huge comfort for him.    

Similarly, Asral Chepang from Kolbhanjyang of Ichchhakamana-1, who had been staying in a hut after the earthquake demolished his house, shared happiness: "No worry now that new house won't have a leaky roof. Whether it is wind or fire, we are secure."    

There are 2,500 Chepang households in Ichchhakamana rural municipality. The Chepang is an indigenous community in Nepal.