Kathmandu, May 3: The illegal structures- houses and huts set up on public land for private use and profit- in Kapan, Kathmandu are being razed to ground now. Heavy equipment are demolishing the illegal houses as part of the campaign to make clear the embankment of the Bagmati River and its tributaries in the Kathmandu Valley.
Assistant District Officer in Kathmandu, Mukti Ram Rijal, said the illegal structures were removed in Kapan of Budhanilakantha Municipality, establishing coordination with the Ministry of Urban Development, District Administration Office Kathmandu and Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
“Removal of illegally set up houses and huts at Sattale, Pathibhara, Tenjing Chowk and other spaces is going on currently,” he told RSS.
Similar such structures are being razed to the ground at Anamnagar-Devinagar section along the Dhobikhola River corridor, Balaju-Machhapokhari and Tilganga areas. The authority has so far flattened over 2,300 houses and huts in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Force Chief Bishnu Prasad Joshi, 15 to 20 structures were being demolished at Devinagar, three in Balaju and 89 at Tilganga, Kathmandu today.
In line with the directive of Prime Minister Balendra Shah, removal of structures built by encroaching upon public land and squatter settlements in the valley had begun last Saturday. On the first day, such structures were removed from Thapathali, Sinamangal-Gairigaun in Kathmandu, and Manohara, Bhaktapur and illegal settlers evacuated.
The affected families after the evacuation have been kept in the ‘holding centres’ of Kirtipur, Balaju and Bhaktapur. Even the identification and management of the landless squatters is going on in the holding centres.
In a bid to seek a long-term solution to the encroachment and management of the families affected by the evacuation with demolition, the government has launched identification of the real squatters through the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation. Those claiming themselves as landless are also being screened to know whether they have owned land in any part of the country.
