Pokhara Metropolis Begins Demolition of Structures in Phirke River Encroachments

Pokhara. Pokhara Metropolitan City has started bulldozing structures built within the riverbank of the Phirke River, which flows through the heart of the city, from today. The metropolis had given a 35-day deadline to remove structures built on public land that encroached upon it. The deadline ended on Saturday.

The metropolis had published a public notice on April 4, issuing a notice to remove structures built on public land. Mayor Dhanraj Acharya said that since the individuals and organizations residing in the riverbank and constructing structures have already been given prior notice, the work of clearing the riverbank from three places will begin as a campaign from Sunday. He said, 'The metropolis will remove all types of structures built within the riverbank according to the Phirke River measurement report conducted in Ashadh 2080 BS.'

The metropolis will start removing encroached structures from 3 places in Phirke. Structures will be bulldozed starting from Andherikuna at the border of Pokhara 2 and 18 towards Ward No. 4, from Budhanilkantha Temple at the border of Pokhara 4 and 5, Phirkepul towards Ward No. 5 and 8, and from the Lions Building at Zero Kilometer at the border of Pokhara 7 and 8 towards Phewa Lake. The metropolis has stated that the campaign to remove encroached structures will involve bulldozers from 10 AM to 5 PM in the presence of representatives and employees.

Pokhara Metropolitan City has also requested participation and cooperation in this campaign for the conservation and beautification of the Phirke River. To ascertain the actual condition of the Phirke River, the metropolis had formed a technical committee under the convenorship of surveyor Basudev Poudel.

The committee worked in the field from July 18, 2080 BS to August 2, 2080 BS, and conducted measurements based on the 2032 BS survey map. The Phirke River, starting from Andherikuna in Ward No. 18 of Pokhara Metropolitan City, flows through Wards No. 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 6 and reaches Gaighat in Ward No. 17, where it merges with Phewa Lake. During the measurement, a report was produced stating that the Phirke River is at least 3.30 meters wide and up to 40 meters wide, and 4 meters to 9 meters deep.

To demarcate the actual boundaries of the river, the technical team also erected a total of 588 boundary pillars, 303 on the west bank and 285 on the east bank. 25 bridges and culverts have been constructed over the river. 160 structures have been illegally constructed on the actual land where the river flows. Some structures are built entirely within the riverbank, while others have their pillars embedded in the river. According to the committee's report, there are 97 temporary structures within the riverbank belonging to individuals. The remaining are permanent structures. Among them, there are 35 individual, institutional, and government structures. An additional 10 temporary structures belonging to institutions have also been found to be constructed.

What are the structures?

According to the report, the Armed Police Force (APF) training center building at Gaighat in Ward No. 17 is located within the riverbank. Similarly, Pokhara Engineering College has built almost half of its structures encroaching on the river, and the building of Little Step Boarding School is also erected in the river.

In addition, dozens of structures including Kunwar Samaj Ghar, Baral Samaj Ghar, Sompal Tamu Samaj Ghar, Pun Magar Samaj, Giri Samaj Ghar, Lions Club building, Kriyaputri Bhawan in Bagaletole and Archhalbot, Photographer Association building, Radhakrishna Temple, etc., have been built in the river. After receiving the report, Pokhara Metropolitan City issued a notice on November 10, 2080 BS, directing the removal of permanent and temporary structures falling within the Phirke riverbank within 35 days.

However, since Phirke Tamu Samaj and 13 other applicants approached the court stating that they had built structures after obtaining map approval, the High Court Pokhara issued a short-term interim order on November 24, halting the metropolis's campaign. However, on January 1, 2081 BS, a joint bench of Justices Milan Kumar Rai and Umesh Koirala dismissed the writ, fully clearing the legal path for the metropolis.

There is a plan to purify the river water and build the Phirke Corridor with green footpaths on both sides of the river, making it a new tourist destination for Pokhara. The report had suggested immediately stopping physical construction around the river, removing scrap collection centers and garages, and protecting the open spaces.