Locals Protest 75 Days Against Tilganga Eviction

Kathmandu. Locals have been staging a sit-in protest in front of the Pashupati Area Development Fund for 75 days against the removal of the Tilganga settlement. They complain that the government has displaced them in an unjust manner. The government had also removed settlements in the Tilganga area (Block B-13) on May 18 and 19 while clearing settlements along the banks of the Bagmati River.

Locals have complained that they have been displaced by being categorized as landless squatters without implementing the agreement reached during the implementation of the Pashupati Area Development Fund's master plan. They state that they are not landless squatters or land encroachers, but are locals with land ownership deeds. They accuse the Pashupati Development Fund of demolishing their settlement without implementing the prior agreement.

They have warned that they will continue the peaceful sit-in for another 10 days and will resort to strong protests if their demands are not heard. Local victim Sudarshan Gautam said that they are residents of a settlement who have been legally residing there, paying taxes to the state with land ownership certificates and building completion certificates.

According to him, the master plan brought by the Pashupati Development Fund in 2053 BS (1996 AD) had provisions for relocating seven settlements including Tilganga B-13, and five of these settlements have already been relocated. He complains that instead of implementing the agreement regarding their settlement, bulldozers were directly used. He accused the police of being mobilized to demolish their legal settlement in the same manner as squatter settlements were being cleared.

According to him, the decision regarding the relocation of the settlement was based on a high-level agreement involving representatives from 17 bodies, including ministers, secretaries, and joint secretaries. However, he stated that they have become homeless because their settlement was demolished without implementing that decision. He also mentioned that no concrete decision has come from the recently held Pashupati Area Development Fund Council meeting.

He said, 'When the Pashupati Area Development Fund published the master plan in 2053 BS (1996 AD), there were provisions to relocate our settlement along with six other settlements in the Pashupati area. According to that master plan, 5 settlements have been relocated so far, while our settlement was yet to be relocated. Agreements were made in various stages during the relocation process, but our settlement was demolished without implementing those agreements.' Locals have urged the government and the fund to implement the agreement immediately and resolve the problem.