Landowners Protest in Pokhara Following Demolition of Structures Near Fewa Lake

Pokhara. Landowners have launched protests after bulldozers were deployed early Saturday morning to enforce the Fewa Lake standards. On Sunday, they held a peaceful rally from Gairi Chautara to the District Administration Office, demanding compensation for land for which they hold legal ownership certificates.

A memorandum has been sent to the federal government through the Chief District Officer. On Saturday, bulldozers were used to demolish 32 temporary structures located within the 65-meter boundary of the lake. Pokhara Metropolitan Mayor Dhanraj Acharya stated that this process will continue. The Supreme Court has also ordered the identification of legitimate versus disputed land and the cancellation of invalid registrations.

The court has directed that compensation be provided for the remaining land. The affected individuals are outraged, claiming that the 65-meter standard was set without scientific study in the name of Fewa Lake conservation and that citizens were evicted in the middle of the night. The concerned committee has accused authorities of implementing the standards based on personal whims rather than hydrological or scientific grounds.

‘The demarcation is illegal, as it ignores the basic principle that the surface of still water is always level,’ the memorandum states. ‘Using bulldozers while citizens were sleeping in the middle of the night is inhumane and a direct violation of constitutional rights.’ The committee expressed concern that enforcing these standards threatens to erase the identity of the historic Gurung settlements and the Jalari community, who have lived there for over 100 years and rely on ancestral occupations.

The federal government's attention has been drawn to the fact that billions in investments by tourism entrepreneurs in the Lakeside area are at risk, which could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs. ‘The state's double standard of planning to provide land to the landless on one hand, while turning legal landowners with certificates into landless people in the name of standards on the other, is unacceptable,’ said committee coordinator Nabin Baral.

Stakeholders claim that Article 25 (Right to Property), Article 17 (Freedom of Profession/Employment), and Article 18 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution have been trampled upon. They have demanded the cancellation of the demarcation conducted without scientific study or landowner consent and have urged that no further structures be demolished until proper compensation or land pooling arrangements are made for land held for decades with legal titles.

Furthermore, they have suggested an immediate resolution to the issue of land that has been frozen for years under the guise of these standards. The concerned committee has warned of a strong protest if their demands are not met. Copies of the memorandum have also been sent to the Chief Minister of Gandaki Province and the Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City.