Due to the opposition of the local residents, the construction of the railway has been stopped in Bardibas of Mahottari. Landowners of Bardibas Municipality-14 have stopped the railway construction work, alleging that the railway department started the bidding process without solving the compensation problem for the land to be acquired.

Under the Janakpur-Bardibas rail project, 14 families who have been living in the land near the railway station area in Bardibas municipality for years demanded the railway department to demarcate and settle the dispute and distribute compensation. However, Malati Khanal, a local resident, said that because the department was arbitrary, they protested and stopped the work.

The department has not resolved the land compensation dispute in those places for a long time and hastily started the bidding process because the locals protested against the railway work, so the work could not take off.

When the railway department called for bids without demarcation, the land of the local residents was randomly acquired. The compensation for the land falling under the same standard has been given at different rates arbitrarily. Some of them have been compensated on time while some have been compensated for years. Neeraj Adhikari, a local leader, said that there was a local agitation when it was not provided.

He alleged that starting the bidding process in a hurry is raising doubts about the intentions of the department. The land near the station was measured by a surveyor in 2022. But at that time, Lalpurja was missed. In the year 2078, the land taken from Lalpurja has already been distributed as compensation for Rs 61 lakh per lot. However, local Khadga Bahadur Singh said that the compensation of the 14 families who missed out on getting Lalpurja was stopped due to technical reasons.

According to former ward president Bharat Bahadur Hamal, although the railway department was clear that the land should be compensated, it could not be given due to the lack of spare parts. Quoting the railway department, former ward president Hamal says that it has been recommended to the ministry that compensation should be given for the said land, but there is no situation to give compensation without the government taking a decision.

In this regard, Assistant Chief District Officer and District Spokesman Upendra Neupane said that the local residents of the area also refused to accept the decision saying that the compensation was less than customary. The railway victims say that the government should give them money so that they can settle in another place, saying that they have to leave their homes. The department and the contractor had several talks with the victim about this. However, since the locals have taken a stance of not allowing work until they have demarcated and given compensation, even the contractors have not proceeded with the work in these areas,' Assistant Pragya Neupane said. 

In this regard, Kamal Sah, the information officer of Janakpur Railway, said that according to the law, compensation cannot be given in the case of land that does not have red parts, and because it is not clear what and on what basis the compensation will be given, there has been a problem in distributing compensation to 14 households of Bardibas. 

He said that even though those families have been living in that place for more than 20 years, the department could not give them compensation because they did not have the real estate of the land. However, after the railway operations were stopped because of them, their problem has been reached through the Ministry to the Land Commission in collaboration with the relevant agencies, and the Council of Ministers has also decided to address their problem and ordered them to make a written proof of land (Lalpurza or other land ownership basis) to get compensation, so the problem will be solved soon. Information Officer Sah said.