Kathmandu, May 18:
Thousands of landless squatters on Sunday organised a massive rally in Lumbini province in southern Nepal to protest the government’s ongoing eviction drive that they claim has displaced millions of people across the country, including in Kathmandu.
Nepal, especially the capital, has witnessed a series of protests by the people displaced during the eviction and demolition drive launched by the Prime Minister Balendra Shah-led government since April for beautification and environmental protection.
Some 25,000 landless people from 22 districts across Nepal participated in the protest rally, in Lumbini province’s Butawal, organised by Landless People and Un-managed Squatters Struggle Committee, Rupandehi, a statement by the organisers said.
More than one million families have been directly or indirectly affected by the government’s eviction campaign launched without proper home work and without providing alternatives, claimed Khagendra Sangraula, convener of the Struggle Committee.
“People have suffered because of government’s move,” “Respect people’s right to housing,” “Stop bulldozer terror,” “Let the poor people live,” “Ensure bread, clothing and housing,” read the slogans in the placards carried by the demonstrators.
Twelve political parties including Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party, Shram Sanskriti Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party have extended their solidarity to the protest.
In Kathmandu alone, more than 20,000 people are displaced by the government’s eviction move that demolished around 4,000 structures.
Out of them, some 2,000 are taken to different holding shelters in and around Kathmandu, while there is no record about the rest of the squatters, the protesters said.
On May 14, during a similar demonstration, protesters, who were agitating under the banner of the National Landless Squatters Front at Maitighar Mandala area here, demanded compensation for families whose settlements were bulldozed by authorities with the deployment of armed security personnel.
On May 4, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order directing the government not to remove squatters without a proper rehabilitation plan.