Landless Residents in Bara Present Seven-Point Demands, Warn of Three-Phase Protest if Unaddressed

Landless residents of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City submitted a memorandum to the Bara Division Forest Office outlining seven demands. They have called for alternative housing and resettlement before being forced to vacate their settlements and demand the issuance of red cards to secure legal ownership. Warning of a three-phase protest if their demands are not met, they plan to hold neighborhood meetings, encircle offices, and block highways. June 6, Bara.

Landless residents from various wards of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City in Bara have presented seven demands. On Wednesday, landless people and informal settlers from 10 wards submitted a memorandum at the Division Forest Office, threatening a three-stage protest if their demands remain unmet. Representatives, local leaders from informal settlements, and local organizations gathered at the Division Forest Office to voice their concerns.

They appealed to the Division Forest Office to refrain from actions that frighten the people and to provide clear reasons along with resettlement plans for peaceful coexistence. They warned against labeling forest settlers as encroachers and intimidating them. The memorandum states, “Citizens who have paid taxes for years, are registered voters, hold citizenship, have electricity and drinking water connections, have schools and health posts, and on whom the government has fulfilled all responsibilities, to threaten them as encroachers is inhuman, unjust, and unconstitutional.”

Entire settlements in areas like Pathlaiya ward no. 1, Tangiyabasti of ward no. 16, Piluwa-Mahendranagar, Chakri of ward no. 22, and Khayarghari of ward no. 14 in Jitpur Simara lack red cards. Local leaders say fear is rising because last year the government started settling communities on forest lands, triggering concerns about eviction. Sukumbasi leader Ramesh Sapkota from Tangiyabasti said, “It is not wrong for the government to remove informal settlements, but if all settlements are treated uniformly, it will spark a major rebellion.”

Some settlements in various wards of Jitpur Simara are on forest land where government agencies previously allowed settlements. Hence, they demand no eviction without alternative arrangements. Recently, after bulldozers were used to clear settlements near the three-numbered bridge in ward no. 22, residents were alarmed. The Division Forest Office has issued notices to remove other settlements as well, prompting local representatives, landless individuals, and informal settlers to submit the memorandum on Wednesday.

The office is reportedly preparing to evict settlements in the Dudhaura River area of ward no. 1 and the eastern part of Pathlaiya. Division Forest Chief Sujit Kumar Jhaka stated that apart from a few houses in east Pathlaiya and settlements near the Dudhaura River, no other evictions are planned currently. “We have not instructed eviction of all forest-bordering settlements, nor issued any such notice,” he said.

The demands are as follows:

1. Immediate halt to eviction of landless people from wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, and 22 of Jitpur Simara.
2. No use of bulldozers or force on any settlement without alternative housing, resettlement, and respectful arrangements.
3. Swift issuance of red cards to legalize ownership for citizens who have inhabited these areas for decades.
4. Collection and verification of data of landless, informal settlers, and squatters via the National Land Commission and issuance of red cards to verified individuals; initiate the process for others.
5. Management of public resources such as land, rivers, public property, ensuring protection of human rights and social justice principles.
6. Immediate cessation of force, intimidation, threats, and discriminatory behavior against landless, squatters, and informal settlers.
7. Seek long-term solutions through dialogue among local government, Land Commission, public offices, and stakeholders.

If demands remain unfulfilled, they will initiate a three-phase protest plan:

1. First phase: Neighborhood and ward-level public gatherings, signature collection, peaceful sit-ins, protests, and handing over memoranda to concerned authorities.
2. Second phase: Encirclement of Division and Sector Forest Offices, public demonstrations, protest assemblies, street debates, and civic campaigns.
3. Third phase: Sit-ins around municipal and administrative offices, encirclement of Tribhuvan and Mahendra Highways; if force is used, indefinite closure of both highways is threatened.