35 Bighas of Land Acquired for Manipal Engineering College in Mahottari Remain Abandoned After 32 Years

Mahottari. Thirty-two years after 35 bighas of land were purchased from farmers in Jaleshwar, the headquarters of Mahottari, to establish an international-level Manipal Engineering College, the site remains abandoned.

Located along the Jaleshwar-Bardibas road section in Jaleshwar Municipality-1, 7, and 8, the land was fenced off three decades ago. Once considered the granary for hundreds of farmers across these three wards, the land, sold at a low price for the college, has fallen into disuse and is now turning into a forest.

Locals complain that political leaders, activists, and elected representatives show no concern for the land. Local farmers sold their land for only 10,000 rupees per kattha to facilitate the operation of an international-level college named 'Manipal Engineering College and Technology'.

Farmers from Jaleshwar, Bajrahi, Ratbara, and Bakhari villages sold their fertile fields at a cheap rate after being promised an engineering college offering courses in Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical, Civil, and Computer Engineering. Local resident Danikant Pathak stated that the Manipal Education Group had promised to provide free engineering education and employment to one child of each land-donating farmer.

Land-selling farmer Harishchandra Thakur noted that even after three decades of selling land at a pittance under the lure of becoming an educational hub, there is no sign of college construction or operation.

The proposed Manipal Engineering College becomes a major agenda for candidates in Mahottari Constituency No. 3 during every election, only to disappear once the election concludes. Locals say this pattern was repeated in the recently concluded House of Representatives elections.

The Manipal Education Group, headquartered in Bangalore, India, signed an agreement with the Government of Nepal in 2051 BS to operate an engineering college in Jaleshwar. Currently, the Manipal Education and Medical Group, operated by Bapo Holdings under the Batas Group, continues to hold the land, yet no progress has been made toward establishing the engineering college.

Farmers from Bajrahi, Ratbara, Bakhari, and Jaleshwar who sold their land for the college construction have now warned that if Manipal does not build the engineering college, they will cut the fences and resume tilling the land themselves.