Clash Erupts in Kathmandu's Manohara Encroachment Site as Authorities Demolish Structures

Kathmandu. Manohara slum settlement is a place whose story is chilling to hear. On Saturday evening, a police team and media personnel were attacked in this settlement. While seven concrete houses were being demolished by bulldozers, 22 security personnel were injured. The security personnel were attacked with boats, bottles, and bricks. 

Eleven police personnel including Deputy Superintendent of Police Navraj Dhungana from Madhyapurthimi Police Station and 11 more from the Armed Police Force No. 22 Duvakot were injured. To prevent further untoward incidents, the bulldozer did not operate for a long time on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, security personnel did not dare to enter the Manohara slum settlement first. After two thousand personnel including Armed Police, Nepal Police, and Metropolitan Police were deployed, they finally entered the settlement. Local residents of Manohara elaborated on the activities in the slum settlement. Expressing his frustration over the unpleasant incidents in the slum settlement, he said, 'Knives are brandished here in broad daylight, not only drug users but also drug trafficking happens. Not only men but also women consume tablets. It has become a hub for tablet trafficking.' When an attempt was made to capture the local's experience on video, he shied away out of fear. He then refused to speak.

The Ratopati team cautiously entered the slum settlement located on the banks of the Manohara River. Unlike the Thapathali settlement, there were concrete houses here, not temporary shelters. It was a densely populated settlement. Walking this path for the first time, we moved through the settlement with fear. People were seen moving their belongings out of their houses. We did not dare to speak to the slum dwellers who were expressing strong dissatisfaction with the police and media personnel. Anyone who saw a new person in the settlement would perk up their ears and stare.

After walking all the way from Jadibuti to the end of the slum settlement, we met a young local from Lokanthali. He was an eyewitness to the slum settlement built by encroaching on the Manohara River. Although his house was nearby, he had never walked this path before and was visiting for the first time. Not only were houses being built illegally here, but illegal sand extraction was also taking place.

Unauthorized concrete houses have been erected on both banks of the Manohara River. On the other side of the river, scrap dealers were seen busy. Scrap dealers were buying and taking away belongings like tin sheets, utensils, notebooks, and books from the slum dwellers.

The belongings moved from inside the houses to the courtyard began to get wet in the drizzle. Some started protecting their belongings by covering them with tarpaulin. We cautiously went live on Ratopati's Facebook. When we tried to talk to some slum dwellers, they spoke very irritably. They were expressing anger, resentment, and impulse all at once at having to leave the homes they had lived in for years. They would act as if they would beat us if they saw a mobile phone or camera. A walk through the Manohara slum settlement before the bulldozer operation clearly revealed the state of mind of the slum dwellers. They were not willing to move easily from here. Instead, they seemed ready to resist. With a large number of security personnel deployed, they did not want to engage in a direct confrontation.

What was not seen in the Manohara slum settlement? We saw churches, monasteries, schools, and tall concrete houses. A large gang was found to have encroached on the river, grabbed land, and sold it. On that land, some built and sold houses, while others bought four-story houses with money earned through hard work abroad. A separate empire was operating here. Where ordinary people could not enter. It could not be touched by small efforts or orders. Which was instantly demolished by the bulldozer of the powerful Balen Shah.

The 'affluent and powerful slum dwellers' vented their anger at the media personnel. Every time they would vent their anger, asking, 'Why are you filming? Who are you showing it to?' Their abuses were unbearable. If the group of police and media personnel had been small, they might have resorted to physical assault.

There were also poignant scenes in the Manohara slum settlement. When the bulldozer started demolishing the concrete houses, even though people left, the dogs did not leave their homes. The dogs, barking incessantly, seemed unwilling to leave their homes. As the bulldozer approached their houses, a slum dweller was heard saying that he was more concerned about his cows than his own belongings. After moving the newborn calf out, he refused to leave the cow. He said he cared for the cow like a mother, having lost his own mother. He had been living here for 22 years and was unable to find a room for rent.

Shortly after the conversation, his house was bulldozed. He was seen leading his cow. 'Now we will have to live on the road,' he said in a dejected tone. In a moment, his house was razed to the ground.