October 20, 2008, Balle, Nepal: Upper caste residents in the community of Balle have tried to ban their Dalit neighbors from using public water taps in the village, the Jagaran Media Center (JMC) reported in its latest e-bulletin.

JMC, a partner of The Advocacy Project, runs a news service focusing on the rights of the Dalit, a lower caste who often face discrimination in Nepal.

Balle, a community in the Rukum District, is home to 25 Dalit families. But when the District Development Committee (DDC) installed 32 taps in the area, the taps were placed in the yards of Brahmin and Chhetri residents. Now, these residents are refusing access to Dalits, forcing some to walk two kilometers or more away to fetch water.

Their actions are clearly illegal – according to Nepali law, anyone who bars others from using public property can face up to a 3,000-rupee fine and one year in prison. So far, the DDC has not taken steps to resolve the issue, according to JMC journalists.