Landless squatters in Chitwan have staged a strong protest and demanded justice, saying the government is using bulldozers without making any arrangements for their proper settlement.
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A protest has been held in Bharatpur, alleging that the government has used dozers to set up squatters in the settlement areas of landless squatters instead of arranging for organized settlements. During the protest organized by the Joint Squatters' Struggle Committee, Chitwan, a rally was held from the Birendra Campus Gate, Bharatpur to the Chitwan District Administration Office on Wednesday afternoon.
The participants of the rally raised slogans like 'Loss of humanity, dozers have brought it', 'Stop the dozer terror', 'Sarkar, find a way out, not squatters'. They also demanded control over inflation. Sati Sal, coordinator of the Struggle Committee, said that there are about 50,000 households in Chitwan that the government has to manage, including landless squatters and unorganized settlements.
'Our main demand is that the state should peacefully manage landless squatters, landless Dalits and unorganized settlements. But dozers have entered such settlements and started creating terror. The court order has not been followed. "A bulldozer is being used in Kohalpur against the Supreme Court's order," he said. He said that he had started a warning that if the government resorted to repression, there would be a strong response. Nar Bahadur Gautam, who came to participate in the protest, had come to Chitwan from Sindhupalchowk to work as a rickshaw driver. "I came to Chitwan in 1955 BS. I made a living by driving a rickshaw. Now I can't even work as a laborer. I live in Bharatpur Ganeshthan. I have four acres of land. I should have received the title deed for that," said 73-year-old Nar Bahadur. He is worried about where the government will take this land, which is home to five people.
Residents of Simalgairi on the banks of the Rapti River in Bharatpur Patihani also came to the protest. About 30 families have been living in that place for years. "It was measured, we have received the white title deed. Now we have to get the red title deed. We built that house with whatever we earned. We have electricity and water. "Now the government would have given legitimacy without raising it, but the government didn't care," said Shankar Mahato, who came to the protest.
