Eviction of Squatters in Kathmandu: A Story of Loss and Displacement
Kathmandu, April 26 — The scene at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Saturday was one of deep sorrow. A municipal police officer addressed landless squatters who had just been evicted from the Thapathali riverbank settlement. “Those going to Kirtipur carry nothing except bedding and clothes. Leave everything else where it is,” he said. Their homes, built over years of effort, were now reduced to rubble. Families arrived at the stadium in shock, holding hands as they faced an uncertain future.
Hira Hari Dusad, a 58-year-old man, asked the officer, “What will happen to the belongings taken out of our house?” The officer replied, “Are you also going to Kirtipur? Later, hand those things over there [to be sold] as scrap.” Hira fell silent, his voice trembling as he spoke about the pain of losing everything. He had lived in the Thapathali settlement since 2004 with his family of nine, working as a daily-wage laborer to build a home on the banks of the Bagmati River. Watching bulldozers tear it down was heartbreaking.
The eviction process began early Saturday morning, with the sound of dismantled roofing sheets mixing with residents’ pleas. Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and metropolitan police personnel were deployed in large numbers. Journalists gathered outside the settlement, but they were not allowed inside. A sign read “Media Zone,” restricting their access. Some reporters managed to slip past security barriers to capture the chaos.
Among the displaced was Kumari Tamang, a 43-year-old woman who had lived in the settlement for 24 years. Her father had died just six days earlier, and her aunt required constant care. “I have small children. Where can I carry them and go?” she cried. As she spoke, a police team arrived, urging residents to move quickly before the bulldozer arrived. “We’ve taken out what we could. What more do you want us to do?” she snapped back, tears streaming down her face.
Pakcha Tarim Kasai, a 52-year-old man, stood beside her, physically weak and unable to move his belongings. “I’ve lived here for 20 years. Now they tell me to go. My legs don’t work. Where can I go like this?” he asked. Police helped him carry his belongings out, but the fear of the bulldozers loomed large. “Hurry up! Hurry up! The bulldozer has arrived,” the loudspeaker announcements echoed, triggering fear among children and the elderly.
At 8:15 am, two red bulldozers rolled onto the road, and demolition began. As the bucket smashed into homes visible from the roadside, Kumari could no longer hold back her tears. A settlement once full of dreams was now reduced to ruins. From inside came constant cries of anguish, but journalists were kept away from the destruction.
After the settlement was razed, police posted photos on their official Facebook page showing officers helping residents. However, the displaced people’s cries were not captured, nor was the journalists’ documentation allowed. From Thapathali, bulldozers moved to Gairigaun in Shantinagar.
Seventy-year-old Bishnu Maya Gurung watched as her house was torn down. Sitting atop scattered belongings, she asked, “Who knows where those doing the demolition will take us?” Her family had managed to remove some household items, but the question of where to store them remained unanswered. “We came here from Samakhusi in 2001, the year the king [Birendra] was killed,” she recalled. “We had nothing. My husband, son, and I are all disabled. We could neither work nor pay rent, so we stayed here.”
The sound of collapsing houses shook the ground, mixed with desperate appeals. One resident called his daughter over the phone, saying, “Daughter, the house is gone! We are searching for a room. Maybe someone will let us stay.” His wife sobbed beside him, while their younger daughter packed her belongings in tears. A 10-year-old girl kept asking her father, “Dad, where will we go now?” He had no answer.
In another home, 70-year-old Krishna Maya Tamang stood outside with more than 10 goats. “These goats fed us,” she muttered. “Now they, too, will suffer. And so will we.” Her family had migrated from Hokse, Kavrepalchok in 1990, starting with one goat and gradually building a herd. Selling goats and manure sustained the family. There was also a dog in the house, which had become part of the family. “Now, where will we take it?” she asked bitterly.
By afternoon, when bulldozers reached her house, the goats were gone. So was Krishna Maya. Only the dog remained in the yard. For 22-year resident Dhadkan Yadav, worries were endless. “Where will we go? Where will our children study? The government has given us pain. Can it also give us happiness?”
Fifty-year-old Sukumaya Pariyar pleaded for her pain to be conveyed. “They won’t hear us. Maybe they’ll hear you.” She suffers from heart disease and feared this ordeal would worsen it. Her son-in-law had found a room, but the rent was Rs14,000 to Rs15,000. “How can we pay so much?” she asked.
These scenes from Thapathali and Gairigaun were repeated in Manohara. The government is preparing to clear settlements in Gothatar Buddha Chowk and Manohara Tol as well. According to data from the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, 476 families live in Shantinagar, 162 in Gairigaun, 143 in Thapathali, 77 in Gothatar, and 13 in Manohara Tol. This brings the total to 871 families. In Manohara, squatters clashed with police as they approached their settlement to tear down the houses.
The displaced are being housed temporarily at Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar. According to the government, 144 families from Thapathali, Shantinagar, and Gairigaun have so far come into contact, with others still arriving. Their details will be collected at the stadium before they are temporarily moved to hotels across Kathmandu. Household goods are being stored at the Radhaswami Satsang Byas Nepal premises in Sundarighat, Kirtipur.
From Sunday, the government says it will begin identifying who among them are “genuine squatters.” “Those recognised will be moved within two weeks to government apartments in Nagarjun Municipality-1 and other safe locations,” reads a statement from Minister of Education, Sasmit Pokharel, who is also the government spokesperson. Long-term rehabilitation will follow, the statement further said.
Even as displeasure ran high, there was no retaliation from the evicted squatters, unlike in the past. The government executed the plan in a very coordinated manner.
