Giribandhu's "plotting" is under tension

The government's decision to lease land beyond the Giribandhu limit was dismissed by the Supreme Court on January 24. On May 29, the Supreme Court issued a decree not only to abuse the land, but to bring it into the government's ownership if found to be barren.

Some of them have started asking for refunds, while those without access and influence are worried that the money will not be returned. Kantipur workers met about half a dozen of those who had not paid money to buy land. Most of them did not want to speak openly for fear that the middlemen would not return the money when their names were made public. Some did not want to go public for fear of getting into legal trouble. A businessman from Birtamod who invested in buying land says that around 500 people including leaders, businessmen and common people have invested crores to buy land in Giribandhu.

Papers made for buying and selling land.

There are common people from Jhapa to Kathmandu who are paying for the land at the current market price of 5 to 10 lakh rupees. One of them is Kalpana Limbu, who came from Sivagunj in Jhapa and is doing hotel business in Birtamode. Four years ago, she had paid a free amount to the local Bishnu Bahadur Rai in the dream of buying 10 dhur land connected with the new bus park. She was making a living by doing business in the Dera. So far neither the money nor the land has been returned.'

Although the general public is worried about the sinking of the money, the big investors have a different opinion. Manoj Prasain, manager of Shivam Housing in Birtamod, is one of the list of more than 100 big businessmen who have invested in the hope of finding land in Giribandhu. Having invested around crores, he is confident that he will get back without any problems. "Some of the small investors have already returned," he said, "they will return our money, we are sure of that."

In Giribandhu T-Estate, which is visible across the Birtamod-Charali section of East-West Highway, opening the demarcation arrangement, the sale of more than billions of land has become a bargain. Many of those who came in contact with Kantipur said that around 300 traders and ordinary people around Birtamod have invested between 500,000 and 100 million. A businessman in Birtamod Bus Park area, who asked not to be named, said that he had withdrawn his investment of 500,000 a few days ago after repeated withdrawals. He also handed over the amount to Rai himself. I paid 5 lakh Baina for 10 smokes. I left with the money proudly," he said.

Bhupu Sainik Sangh affiliated Bishnu Bahadur Rai Giribandhu is the main partner in the management, sale and transfer of land. Earlier, he was responsible for the sale and management of 51 bigha of Birtamod Bus Park area, and recently he was active in understanding the land of Giribandhu. Talking to Kantipur in the first week of August, he said, "As much as there are tea plantations in Giribandhu, it is not so dense." It is not transferable without making arrangements for land and tea cultivation instead.'' Locals say that other intermediaries are also out of touch.

Even though many businessmen like Manoj Prasain, who are related to Rai and others who are involved in the land management of Giribandhu, say that they will not invest, it seems that the general public, who have been tricked into investing in the land, has not been reassured. A retail trader in Birtamod who paid 1.5 million Baina in the hope of getting land said that he was worried that the money would not be returned. After my neighbor Rai showed greed, I poured my life's earnings into a single investment. Now we are worried about how to get the money back," he said.

Birtamod's Sanjay Prasai returned home three years ago after spending five years in Dubai. He who came with the plan of 'doing something in the country' has also sunk 1.5 lakhs of free money in Giribandhu. He invested the money through Birtamodai land broker Raju Rayamazhi. "He did not believe that I will give the paper to the ward after submitting the letter," Prasain added. If the land is not available within 6 months, I will return the money. Prasai claims that Rayamazhi extorted more than 20 crores from a dozen common people in the new bus park area. "The people who gave the money are sitting with their hands on the couch like me," he added.

After getting permission from the Ministry of Land Management, the land businessmen of Birtamod, Vishnu Rai, Manoj Prasain, hotelier Rajendra Thapa, and auto mobiles businessman Tukendra Adhikari joined to sell this land. It seems that the investment is increasing with the addition of other people through these four businessmen, in which UML, Congress, Maoist leaders, activists and people's representatives are also connected.

Rai, who started an organization called Birtamod Housing Company, is one of the people who had previously planted 51 bighas of tea plantations in 2060. Birtamod Housing Company had 27 partners with him. According to those who have invested money to buy the land, through the network of sellers, the share was determined within about 344 bighas of Giribandhu and distribution was started informally at the rate of 1 share equal to 1 bigha. In which the price of one share was fixed at Rs 6 crore.

Locally Bishnu Rai and Deepak Malhotra in Kathmandu were active in selling tea plantation land. The family of Pavitra Mahatara Prasain, head of Birtamod municipality, also fell into the temptation of getting cheap land. Mayor Prasain said that in the past, she had heard that she had paid crores of rupees to businessman Deepak Malhotra while she was her husband, and after her husband's death, she had received the money back from Malhotra. "There was business in the past but not now," she said.

Tukendra Adhikari, an auto mobiles trader of Birtamod, has invested around 500 million in land, including private investment of 300 million, locals say. But the officer claims that he did not spend that amount. ``It must have invested a few crores. But the amount heard in the market is just a rumor," he said. Although he does not want to reveal how much land he has invested and how much he has invested, those who have submitted the land in the hope of getting the land through the authorities are demanding the money back from him.

Most of those who invested around crores to buy tea plantation land are rich people from Birtamod, Bhadrapur, Kakdvitta, Dhulabari, Surunga, Damak. At this time, everyone is waiting for the refund. Some of them are being forced to clear the useless land within the Birtamod municipality. A local who paid 12 million Baina to buy the land through Manoj Prasai, who did not want to be named, told that there is talk of taking the land of Garamneethir with 10 percent interest from the date of investment. "Many investors like me are thinking that since there is no land for tea plantation, they have to take it too," he said.

Kushal Khatiwada, general secretary of Birtamod Industry and Commerce Association, said that the money of many traders in Jhapa has been sunk in tea plantations. Jhapa is in the grip of economic recession as traders' money sinks into the land of tea plantations. If only that money would be raised, Jhapa would be running," he said.