Khotang. A total of 436 girls and girls of the district have been provided free transportation service to the ‘Dashain-Tihar, gift to girl’ campaign launched by a youth group of the district targeting the festivals. Youths of different local levels provided free transportation service to the people in the campaign organized under the leadership of President of Nepal Sports Academy Sanjay Kumar Rai.

Youths from all 10 local levels of the district have provided the service of ferrying their daughters from their home to their maternal homes and from their maternal homes. The campaign has been launched targeting the daughters who are not able to go to their maternal uncles due to lack of money and lack of access to transport during the festival season and lack of seats when public transport is full and cannot go to Maiti÷Mawali due to lack of seats.

During the Dashain Tika (Oct. 16 to Oct. 1, 2019) campaign, girls and girls within a distance of 35 kilometers of different roads of the district were provided to their mothers, mothers and daughters. The youths involved in the campaign provided services by using 66 motorcycles and a four-wheeler jeep of Shubham Foundation.

As part of the campaign launched by appointing coordinators at all 10 local levels, 205 people were provided free transport service through motorcycles and 90 people by jeep from Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality-1. Likewise, 23 people from Halesi Tuwachung Municipality-7, 75 from Baksila Bazaar of Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality, 21 from Diprung Chuichumma and 22 from Rawabesi have availed motorbike service.

Coordinator Rai said that the campaign has been launched to mobilize the daughters and girls to their maternal homes from their maternal homes to their homes as public transport is not accessible on the roads obstructed due to hilly terrain, unpaved roads and the rainy season.

“We have launched the campaign with a humanitarian spirit to make it easier to reach and return home on time during the festivals. Now we are planning to run a Tihar-targeted campaign as well,” he said, adding that preparations are being made to run the campaign from Kartik 5 to Kartik 7. This year, the target is to provide services to around one thousand girls during the Dashain and Tihar festivals. ’

A secretariat has been set up at Kirat Chowk in Diktel Bazaar for public relations for this year’s campaign. Free transport service was provided by setting up a secretariat for contact as mobile phone towers could not be picked up everywhere due to bad weather.

According to the youth group, the service has been provided to the daughters who are financially weak and do not have access to transportation. Secretariat member Anisha Ramtel said the service was provided free of cost at the secretariat set up at Diktel Bazaar, the main business hub of the district.

Various agencies had provided fuel and other necessary materials for the campaign. The group had provided free transport service to 415 girls during the Dashain festival last year.