Landless Squatters Protest Bulldozing in Butwal

Butwal. Landless squatters protested in Butwal today after bulldozers were run over squatter settlements.

Leaders of the movement accused the government of moving forward in a 'dictatorial style' ignoring humanitarian sensitivity.

The rally organized by the Nepal Landless, Squatters and Unorganized Settlement Struggle Committee Rupandehi, which started from Butwal's Highway Chowk, turned into a corner meeting at Traffic Chowk. Protesters protested, saying the government was creating bulldozer terror instead of distributing land ownership certificates. They also warned of further intensified protests if the bulldozer campaign is not stopped.

Addressing the corner meeting, struggle committee advisor Birendra BK commented that the government that bulldozes settlements is illegal, even though the votes they cast are valid. He accused the government of creating bulldozer terror in various places without considering humanity.

Rupandehi coordinator of the struggle committee, Khagendra Poudel, demanded that the land ownership certificate distribution process stopped in Butwal be immediately resumed. He warned of strong protests if the 27 families living near the Butwal-Ranigunj industrial area are not managed in the same place, stating that the attempt to remove them is unacceptable.

Statistics show that the number of landless and unorganized settlers in Rupandehi is very high. According to the Chairman of the Land Commission Rupandehi, Kumar Thapa, 79,261 households have applied for land ownership certificates in the district. Among them, 3,076 are landless Dalits, 6,761 are landless squatters, and 69,426 are unorganized settlers.

The highest number of families, 16,874, have not received land ownership certificates in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City. Similarly, 16,142 families in Sainamaina Municipality, 14,030 in Devdaha Municipality, 12,402 in Kanchan Rural Municipality, 8,292 in Tilottama Municipality, and 4,506 families in Gaidhawa Rural Municipality are waiting for land ownership certificates.

A large number of landless and squatters from Butwal and surrounding areas participated in the protest.