Dozers Demolish Squatter Settlements in Kathmandu Amidst Controversy
Kathmandu—When he was a candidate for the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Balendra (Balen) Shah had gone to `Its My Show` with Suraj Thkuri along with Chiribabu Maharjan, the mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City. In that show, Balen had mixed and sung Ramesh Rayan`s song `Garib ko chameli boldine kohi chaina, kohi chaina`.
Later, Balen also uploaded that song on his YouTube channel. That song has been watched by 1 crore 60 lakh people on YouTube.
The context of this song has come to the fore again with the demolition of squatter settlements on the orders of Prime Minister Balen. On Balen`s orders, bulldozers are currently being run on squatter settlements in the valley.
The residents of the squatter settlements are currently feeling stateless and voiceless. They feel that there is no one to speak for them.
On Friday, before the sun rose in the Kathmandu sky, a kind of panic had already spread in the settlements of Teku and Bansighat. The Metropolitan City`s bulldozer had arrived, colder than the cold breeze from the river. The words of the song that had won people`s hearts during the election yesterday seemed to be drowning in the muddy water of the Bagmati today.
The young people who had applauded Balen when he rapped `Garib ko chameli boldine kohi chaina` are today stunned as the government led by him demolishes their homes with bulldozers. For the residents of those settlements, that song has become a big satire today.
There was a sad haste on the bank of Bansighat since early morning. The squatters were making a final and unsuccessful attempt to save their lifelong earnings. A middle-aged woman was frantically stuffing her old clothes and some utensils into a large plastic bag. Where to go? Where to shelter? The government said to move, but there was no place to show them where to go. She sighed deeply and said, `Where to go? I don`t know! Even this one hut I had has been demolished. The government must have told us to sleep on the road!`
On the other side of the river, a line of bulldozers was ready. Sundar Sah, who came from the Madhesh region and had been working hard in this Bansighat for the past 13 years. He had built a small concrete house by modifying motorcycles. That concrete house was just an `encroachment` in the eyes of the government today.
Sundar`s worry was not just about his house being demolished, but also about the future of his children and the pain of being deprived of rights from the state due to lack of citizenship. He said, `Wherever we live, the poor should be given a place to work!`
Only he has a citizenship card. `My wife and children do not have papers. I don`t know how the government will let us live now,` he expressed his concern.
In the settlement south of Kuleshwor Secondary School, vehicles going to buy fruits and vegetables were stopped since early morning. Ram Bahadur Pariyar was hastily removing the tin sheets of his shack. He had great hatred towards the media and YouTubers. `They call us `Hukumbasi` (people who live by order), are we living here by choice?` he expressed his anger. `Sometimes the fear of being washed away by the river flood, sometimes the fear of the government demolishing it, the life of a squatter has always been full of fear. What kind of justice is it to suddenly run bulldozers without even giving a week`s notice?`
Complaint of Squatter Leader Missing
According to the residents of the squatter settlements, in the past, whenever there was talk of removing squatter settlements, big leaders of political parties would go there. They would promise land ownership certificates and instigate protests.
Now bulldozers are running, but those leaders are nowhere to be found. According to the locals of Bansighat, the leaders are not even picking up the phone these days. Bhim Khatri of the settlement expressed his anger, `There were rumors of eviction 4-5 times, but leaders here said they wouldn`t evict and would distribute land ownership certificates. Now none of them are to be seen.`
Bhim Khatri, met in front of Vishwaniketan Secondary School, said that although there were protests across the country when squatter settlements were removed in the past, political parties are now sitting back saying `it served them right`. `We said we need to protest, one leader told me to tell the Ghanti MPs. Are you going to find excuses even in times of trouble?` Khatri said.
Where were the bulldozers run?
As part of the campaign to remove squatter settlements, the government today ran bulldozers on squatter settlements located on the banks of various rivers in Kathmandu district.
Bulldozers have been running since early morning in the Balaju-Baspark area along the Bishnumati river bank in Kathmandu. Similarly, bulldozers were run on the Shankhamul-Buddhanagar section of the Bagmati river bank after 10 am.
Bulldozers ran in the Bansighat area from Vishwaniketan Secondary School along the Bagmati river bank since 8 am. Six large bulldozers and drills were operated there simultaneously. Since early morning, bulldozers have been run in the area from the confluence of the Bishnumati and Bagmati rivers, from Teku to Kalimati.
Similarly, bulldozers were run on the settlement on the bank of the Bagmati river, located below the Bagmati bridge under the Balkhu Ring Road and the Kalimati vegetable market. Today, bulldozers were run only on the squatter settlements located on the river banks.
Editor`s note: This item is an example of reporting without any reference to the number of structures/homes or of the people affected. Until this is known, the case cannot be entered into the HLRN Violation Database.
Photo: Bulldozer demolishing homes at Teku Bansighat Sukumbasima, Nepal. Source: Ratopati photo library.
| Themes |
| • Destruction of habitat • Displaced • Displacement • Dispossession • Forced evictions • Housing rights • Local • Low income • Public policies • Squatters |
