Authorities clear Manohara squatter settlement

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 27: The government continued clearing squatter settlements along riverbanks in Kathmandu Valley for the second day. The government on Sunday cleared squatter settlements along the Manohara River, at Buddha Chowk in Gothatar (Ward-8) and Manohara Tol (Ward-9) of Kageshwori Manohara Municipality in Kathmandu. The operation has remained largely peaceful. 

On Saturday, settlements along the Bagmati riverbanks in Thapathali (Ward 11), Gairigaun (Ward 9) and Shantinagar (Ward 31) were cleared. 

As of Sunday, a total of 292 families have contacted government authorities to be listed as landless, while others are also continuing to come forward. 

Since early morning on Sunday, a government team has been deployed to the sites to demolish remaining structures and clear the unplanned settlements, which were left unfinished on Saturday due to the obstruction created by some locals. 

Authorities had issued prior notice through miking starting Thursday, prompting some families to evacuate their temporary shelters on Friday. As scheduled, the remaining families cleared the area early Sunday before demolition commenced at early morning. Security personnel from Nepal Police and metropolitan teams assisted riverbank dwellers in moving their belongings during the process.

The encroachments along the banks of the Bagmati River and Manohara River have finally been cleared after several decades. 

According to the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, there were 871 unauthorised households in the affected areas: 476 in Shantinagar, 162 in Gairigaun, 143 in Thapathali, 77 in Gothatar, and 13 in Manohara Tole.

As of 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 292 families from Thapathali had contacted government authorities, according to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. Families from other areas are also continuing to come forward.

Those who reported were taken to the screening centre at Dasharath Stadium, where their details were recorded before arrangements were made to accommodate them in hotels across Kathmandu and the shelter based in Ichangu. 

Screening is under way by teams from the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority and the High-Powered Bagmati Civilisation Integrated Development Committee.

According to Dipa Dahal, press and research expert of Prime Minister Balendra Shah, temporary arrangements have been made to accommodate them in various hotels, along with provisions for food. 

“To protect the rights and privacy of displaced families, especially vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children—the government has arranged low-cost hotel accommodation as a temporary measure before relocating verified genuine squatters to long-term housing,” she added.

The government has said it will identify genuine landless people and assured that families identified as genuine squatters will be relocated within two weeks to government apartments in Ward-1 of Nagarjun Municipality. Long-term rehabilitation and settlement will follow. 

The attempts to clear the Bagmati riverbanks by demolishing such unplanned settlements had repeatedly failed due to a lack of coordination among government agencies. 

With the government now taking responsibility for identifying genuine landless settlers and ensuring their rehabilitation, the effort is finally gaining momentum. 

The government has intensified its campaign to clear settlements built by encroaching on riverbanks, streams, and government land in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Dhanusa, Hetauda, Birgunj, Bara and Butwal, among others places. 

The government on Saturday cleared settlement in Dhalkebar Chowk of Mithila Municipality-6, Dhanusha, which had been encroached upon for nearly 53 years. Likewise, the government, on April 20, demolished structures built within 25 metres on either side of the road along the Tribhuvan Highway in the Birgunj Metropolitan. 

The government demolished the structures built encroaching the road section from Gandak to the Miteri Bridge customs area.