Bulldozers Raze Squatter Settlement in Kohalpur, Hundreds of Families Displaced

Kohalpur (Banke). The government has begun demolishing a squatter settlement in Kohalpur. Bulldozers were deployed this morning under heavy security presence to clear the settlement.

Dozers have been razing vacant huts and shanties, while many residents are voluntarily vacating their homes and relocating their belongings. Following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Kohalpur Municipality had issued a 10-day notice on Baishakh 16, instructing residents to vacate the land.

The land in question belongs to the Kohalpur Town Development Committee. Although the court had issued an interim order against removing the squatters for now, the municipality has claimed that the court’s order does not apply as the land is legally owned under a Lalpurja (title deed) by the Town Development Committee.

Those who initially settled on the town development land have already sold their plots and moved elsewhere. Currently, there are 751 huts and shanties in the settlement. The municipality stated that a holding centre has been constructed to accommodate the genuine squatters.