MP Arjun Narsingh KC Criticizes Government's Bulldozer Actions Against Squatters

Kathmandu. Nepali Congress MP Arjun Narsingh KC has expressed serious objection, stating that the government is creating a bulldozer terror without identifying and managing genuine squatters.

Speaking in a special time during the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday, he said that the government's latest move has created extreme fear among squatters and violated their constitutional right to live safely.

He commented that while the government's initial effort to take action against those encroaching on riverbanks, forest areas, and public land appeared commendable and courageous, it has now turned into an unprepared recklessness. He drew the government's attention to the fact that genuine squatters are forced to live hungry due to bulldozing in squatter settlements, and their children are deprived of going to school.

During his address to the parliament, MP KC also presented details of the tragic and heartbreaking incidents that occurred during the displacement of squatters. He informed the parliament about the facts that Indrabahadur Rai jumped into the Bagmati River unable to bear the extreme mental stress of displacement, 17-year-old Rabin Tamang committed suicide, and Shanti Nagar, Rabin Tamang's wife, died of a heart attack. Similarly, he mentioned that the incident of Bhojraj Darji's death at the holding center in Kirtipur clearly illustrates how dire and sensitive the situation has become.

Stating that international human rights organization Amnesty International and various domestic human rights organizations have also expressed serious concern and worry about this forced displacement happening in Nepal, MP KC emphasized that the state should be the guardian of its citizens.

He strongly drew the government's attention to immediately stop such inhumane use of force without identifying the genuine victims and rehabilitating them properly, and to find a long-term and just solution to the problem.