Without Resettlement Plans, 10,000 Displaced Individuals Face Uncertainty
April 28, Kathmandu – After the government operated bulldozers in the Sukumbasi settlement of Thapathali on Saturday morning, 26-year-old Pravesh Pariyar, along with his family of six including his pregnant wife, relocated to an ashram in Kirtipur. “There is nowhere to go. The government did not even give us time to find a place,” he said. “My wife has an appointment on the 13th of May for delivery. She has fallen ill since we arrived here.” Due to increased pain, his wife, who was nearly nine months pregnant, was taken to a maternity home today.
“Problems have compounded one after another. I was making a living through day labor, and now the stress of having no place to live has increased,” said Pravesh. Twenty years ago, Pravesh’s mother had brought him from Udaypur to settle in the Sukumbasi settlement in Thapathali, where he grew up and recently got married. “Previously, the birth of a child was a joy, but the government has brought such dire circumstances,” said his sister Pooja, who lives with her maternal family after facing discrimination from her husband’s family due to her inter-caste marriage.
“There are six of us – mother, sister, niece, nephew, wife, and me,” Pravesh added. “We were given only one hammock to live on here in the ashram.” Carrying his underage nephew, his pregnant wife, and elderly mother, Pravesh is anxious about where they will go next. They are angered by the government’s actions, asking, “If there was nowhere to take us, why did they demolish our homes?”
Following the demolition in Sukumbasi settlements in Thapathali as well as Gairigaun, Shantinagar, and Manohara, 155 displaced families have been brought to the Radhaswami Satsang Byas Ashram. A monitoring team from an organization concluded that the ashram itself is uninhabitable. The National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders has described the ashram where the displaced reside as an open prison. According to the network, the behavior of the metropolitan municipality and Nepal Police, along with the physical conditions of the ashram, make it equivalent to an open jail.
“During the rainy season, leaking tin roofs force everyone to crowd in one open hall,” the report states. “Especially for women, there is a severe lack of privacy, with CCTV cameras installed all over the hall and no separate space for changing clothes.” When a team visited on Tuesday afternoon, the displaced residents openly shared their distress.
“Illnesses are increasing. Children, pregnant women, and the elderly are facing difficulties. Food arrangements are lacking,” said 38-year-old Sirjana Limbu. “There is strict regulation on going outside; names must be registered.” Following public exposure of the ashram’s poor conditions, journalists have been barred from taking photos or videos. “After complaints about insufficient food surfaced, now the media is not allowed in,” a young man living at the center said.
The most pressing concern for displaced residents brought to this ashram, facilitated by metropolitan police, is the uncertainty about the future. “They said children would start school from today, but I was not allowed to send my son,” said 35-year-old Sunita Tamang. Her 13-year-old son previously attended Srijansheel Secondary School in Budhanilkantha, where many children from Thapathali’s settlement also studied. According to Sunita, this school is preferred due to its affordability compared to other nearby schools.
While displaced children face uncertainties about their education, men who used to work as day laborers are now struggling to find materials near the demolished settlements. “We women are forced to remain confined here, while men go to clean others’ homes to earn money,” Sirjana explained.
Ten Thousand Displaced Following Bulldozing
Kathmandu Metropolitan Police reported that demolitions of houses and structures occurred in four squatter settlements across the capital on Saturday and Sunday, affecting 2,081 families. Specifically, 144 families in Thapathali, 1,000 in Gairigaun, 131 in Manohara (toward Kathmandu), and 806 in Manohara (toward Bhaktapur) were displaced, impacting more than 10,320 people in total. Nearly half of these displaced individuals have registered at the Dashrath Rangasala stadium for temporary shelter.
As of Tuesday, 1,124 families comprising 3,584 individuals have officially applied for squatter status with the Kathmandu Metropolitan Office. Staff from the metropolitan office and the empowered Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee have been handling applications. Officials noted that applications for resettlement have increased in recent days. The number of families arriving at the Rangasala holding center grew from 181 on Saturday to 373 on Monday. “We are still taking applications; the exact number to come is uncertain,” an official at the center stated.
Only a small portion of those registered at the holding center has been accommodated in religious ashrams or various guest houses around Kathmandu by the metropolitan authorities. Vimal Dhakal, Development Commissioner of the Valley Development Authority, stated that many displaced prefer to stay on their own and that the demand for temporary housing remains low. “More people are contacting us, but most want to stay by themselves,” she said.
Following the sudden demolition, many displaced people sought refuge with relatives or rented rooms elsewhere. Those who initially took shelter with relatives are increasingly arriving at Rangasala. However, no official data has been collected by any governmental body. “While the prime minister’s directive coordinated the demolition work, no coordination exists regarding the resettlement of the displaced,” an official explained. Various bodies, including the Kathmandu Metropolitan Office, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Land Management, empowered Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee, Valley Development Authority, and Nepal Police are involved, but leadership and coordination appear lacking.
According to Development Commissioner Dhakal, incomplete data collection has contributed to delays and confusion in the process. “We are verifying the three-generation lineage; further steps will depend on this. If individuals are found elsewhere, they won’t be recognized as genuine squatters,” she added. Displaced residents express deep frustration at Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s method of identifying squatters by demolishing their homes first. Many staying in the religious ashram in Kirtipur have voiced anger toward the Prime Minister.
“They turn off cameras before distributing food and then post on social media as though the squatters are happy here,” one displaced person said, “How can anyone be happy after their home has been destroyed?”
Rajup Prasad Chapagain, coordinator of the Accountability Monitoring Group and a human rights defender, labeled the bulldozing of squatter settlements as authoritarian and inhumane. “Without considering constitutional provisions, legal procedures, or humanitarian aspects, people were made homeless by the Prime Minister’s orders, which is unacceptable even under a hostile regime,” he said. Chapagain also criticized the approach taken when Mayor Shah demolished and verified homes without following the Supreme Court’s orders, calling it an unethical method.