Wildlife reserve expansion strike victims protest in half-nakedness

By Bhawani Datta Bhatta, Kanchanpur, April 22: Wildlife reserve expansion strike victims have staged a peaceful demonstration in half-nakedness in the scorching heat of Wednesday noon. 

Enduring the peak of the afternoon heat, when it's difficult to even step outside, victims have staged a peaceful protest in front of the District Administration Office (DAO), Kanchanpur, demanding rehabilitation. 

Demonstrators have opted to sit-in in half- nakedness since Wednesday in front of the gate of DAO, after the peaceful protest since last Friday on April 17 turned no dice. 

Septuagenarian Amar Jung Shahi said that our land was snatched from us 24 years ago, but we are yet still to be rehabilitated. 

He said, "We are living under a trampoline sheet without caring about snakes, mosquitoes, Scorpio in the night. We are compelled to take to the streets after being deprived of the basic amenities by the government."

Secretary of the Reserve victim struggle committee Krishna Bhatta, said that we were promised of getting ownership of land during the election; however, the new government has not done anything about it, so we have been forced to stage a peace protest. 

Chairperson of the Reserve victim struggle committee Jaya Bahadur Rokaya, highlighted that their demands are not looked into.

He said that even after not being heard by the majority formed government, we are compelled to stage a sit-in. 

He said that the protest will continue until the demand is met.

Wildlife reserve expansion strike victims staged a protest in front of the gate of the DAO 

Since last Friday, reserve victims have been staging a sit-in protest in front of the District Administration Office, demanding that they be provided with at least 10 kattha of land without reduction, that basic necessities be guaranteed and provided free of cost, that all reserve victims be declared as a single ward, and that they be officially recognized as conflict victims, among other demands.

Continuing to change the form of their protests, the reserve victims have been demonstrating peacefully. 

The 2,473 families who were displaced during the park expansion in 2001 are currently forced to live in hardship, residing in temporary shelters built on public land in Jadibuti, Mahendranagar.