BIRATNAGAR: Surkhet’s Gurvakot Municipality is to provide employment opportunity to jobless youths in village. Under this program, the municipality has set a target to arrange annually minimum 100 days of employment to local youths. The municipality has rolled out ‘one house, one employment’ policy targeting jobless youth from poor, disadvantaged and backward geography.

Hasta Pun, mayor of the municipality, said the policy has been adopted to provide employment to youths aspiring to go abroad in search for work. “We will employ a member from each household for at least 100 days a year”, he shared. He expressed his confidence that the current policy of the municipality would help prevent youths from going abroad and engage them in creative works within own village.

The municipality has brought out the policy to connect youths with different entrepreneurial works, including agriculture farms, tourism and home stay under ‘water, minerals, agriculture and forest, our youth our property’ program.

Among other policies and program put forth by the municipality for the new fiscal year include investment on children as the foundation of future, employment to youths for development and prosperity and senior citizens as experience bank. The municipality has also floated a plan to bring at least 200 houses roofed with hay and straw under corrugated zinc sheets. “The municipality will grant 30 per cent of the costs involved in the purchase of zinc sheets”, Pun further announced.

He further shared, “We have set a goal to get Gurvakot freed from roof with hay and straw within coming three years”. Likewise, the municipality has also included ‘deputy mayor entrepreneurship program’ for women. “Enterprises development center will be set up in all 14 wards under this program”, shared Mauna BK, deputy mayor, adding the initiative is to promote self-employment among women. Similarly, the municipality has put forward several plans to ensure access of every household to drinking water under the ‘one household, one tap’ campaign.

Among other programs are arrangement of local nutrient rich foods to students below grade 5 of the community schools, mobilization of women health volunteers for health awareness, diversification and specialization of agriculture production and honor to banks and financial institution for providing agriculture loan to farmers and their groups.