|
Brief narrative |
CHAUKIDANDA, GHODAGHODI MUNICIPALITY, KAILALI DISTRICT – 1 MAY 2021 Location: Godawari municipality, Kailali district Date: 1 May 2021 Authority responsible: Forest and municipal authorities Number of families evicted: 19 Eviction notice/due process: No Compensation: No Relocation: No Official rationale: Clearance of unauthorized structure on the highway On 1 May 2021, forest and municipal authorities bulldozed and demolished an informal settlement in Chaukidanda, part of Godawari municipality in Kailali district. The action rendered 19 families from the Badi (Dalit) community homeless. The eviction was part of a clearance drive targeting unauthorized structures along the East-West Highway.50 The authorities did not issue eviction notices, conduct a verification process or offer alternative housing;51 they completely disregarded the Badi community’s socio-economic vulnerabilities.52 Residents were forced to live in makeshift shelters exposed to monsoon rains, snakes and disease, while their possessions, including school books, clothes and official documents, were destroyed. There was no compensation.53 According to Godawari Khatri, the Section Officer of the Women and Children Section of the municipality, some makeshift tents remain in the area and to date a few people are still living there.54
46 In-person conversation with Bina Budhacharya, Bimala Tamang, Bhagawati Adhikari and Sabitri Khadka, housing rights activists affiliated with Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj, February 20, 2023. See also, Chepang Families Still Waiting for Housing After Conservation Officials Burned Down Their Homes in Nepal | Cultural Survival. 47 Interview by voice call with Ganga Bhandari, Ward Secretary of Ward 9, Madi municipality, May 15, 2025. 48 Interview by voice call with Ganga Bhandari, Ward Secretary of Ward 9, Madi municipality, May 15, 2025. 49 Mongabay, “Razing of Indigenous hamlet highlights Nepal’s conservation challenge”, 7 April 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/razing of-indigenous-hamlet-highlights-nepals-conservation-challenge/ 50 Rastriya Dalit Network, “The incident of the demolition of the houses of the Badi community”, May 12 2023, https://www.rdnnepal.org.np/public/index.php/article-details/the-incident-of-the-demolition-of-the-houses-of-the-badi-community 51 Arthalagani, “हुकुमवासीको जग्गा हडप्ने फण्डाले वास्तववक सुकुम्बासी घरबार बबहहन” [The land-grabbing schemes of privileged settlers have deprived genuine landless squatters of shelter”], May 6 2023, https://www.arthalagani.com/politics/1946.html/ (in Nepali). 52 United Nations Nepal, The Badi Community of Nepal - Issue 50: https://un.info.np/Net/NeoDocs/View/2415 53 Observations from field visit. 54 Interview by voice call with Godawari Khatri, Section Officer of the Women and Children Section, Godawari municipality, Attariya, Kailali, May 21, 2025. |
