Displaced Families Demand Housing and Employment After Eviction

Kathmandu. After the government removed slum settlements along the riverbanks, hundreds of families are now forced to live in various holding centers in the valley. Those living in holding centers have demanded that the government immediately arrange for proper housing and employment.

Although food and shelter are good in the holding centers, their hearts are not settled there. They are demanding that the government quickly arrange for proper housing for those who have been living in holding centers after their homes were bulldozed.

They also complain that the government did not provide adequate notice or time before demolishing their houses and shacks. "If they had given us a few days, we could have taken out our belongings," said 71-year-old Kanchhi Thapa, who is living in the holding center at the Agricultural Development Bank's training center in Bode, Bhaktapur. Although her old address was Dhading, she had been living in the slum settlement in Gairigaun for 20-22 years, and after the bulldozers ran over it, she is now homeless and without an address. She currently has nothing but the clothes on her back.

The holding center room has now become her address after the bulldozer ran over the shack she had built with hard work by doing small businesses. She says the government must immediately arrange for proper housing and employment.

Bir Bahadur Tamang, displaced from Shankhamul, had his father settle in the Shankhamul settlement in 2030 BS. Bir Bahadur's parents died there, and he performed their last rites there. Now Bir Bahadur is homeless. Although the house he built with hardship, however small, was bulldozed, his family has been separated. Bir Bahadur's family consists of 13 people, including children and grandchildren. His son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren have gone to Lubhu, Lalitpur, to find a room. It is difficult for the homeless to find a room in Kathmandu, so they have gone to Lubhu, he informed. Bir Bahadur and Sanu Maya, who used to live happily with their family, do not sleep well in the holding center room; the memory of their grandchildren and worry about the future do not let them sleep.

These families, who have been living along the riverbanks for years, say they were forced to live there. "We didn't live there by choice, we lived there because there was no alternative," said Manju Tamang, displaced from Balkhu. After her husband remarried, Manju, who worked in Iraq for 2 years and Saudi Arabia for 5 years to raise her three children, spent all her earnings on building a house, and now she has nothing.

Gita Tamang, who became lonely after her parents passed away, often appears disheartened in the holding center. Although she is 56 years old, she still does not have a citizenship certificate. Displaced from the Balkhu settlement, she demands that the government make proper arrangements for the poor and helpless citizens like her.

Jagat Sunar, 81, and his wife, 76-year-old Laxmi Sunar, displaced from Teku Banshighat, demand that the government make arrangements quickly and properly. Having lived there since 2059 BS, they are now homeless.

Rojina Khatun, displaced from the Balkhu slum settlement, is now 25 years old. Having lost her father at a young age, she still does not have a citizenship certificate. She said her mother educated her up to the 11th grade. She had to drop out of her studies and work to fulfill her mother's dream, but she couldn't find good work. She said, "I don't have citizenship either, which makes it difficult to find work." Her family, who used to work as scrap dealers, are now homeless and jobless in the holding center.

Many of these families displaced from slum settlements include young children, the elderly, and members with chronic illnesses. Some were making a living through daily wage labor, while others depended on small shops or cart businesses. After the settlement was removed, their income has also completely stopped. Photo: Nepal Photo Library