‘Red rooster shouted on the shaft, the government has lost its jasmine.’

On Saturday afternoon, landless squatters were singing songs on Bijuli Bazaar Road under the scorching sun. Some were expressing anger on their sweaty, pained faces, saying, ‘Not dozers, give a solution, give respect to the squatters.’

The displaced squatters came from various holding centers to participate in the rally called by the National United Squatters Forum. They started the rally by carrying pamphlets from their homes. The slogan written on the pamphlet was mocking the government, ‘Hundred influential heroes, zero for the poor.’

The government had used bulldozers on the houses of landless squatters who had been living on the banks of the river for years on the 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th and 20th of last year to evict unauthorized settlements. Since then, some have been living outside the holding center, while others are dependent on the holding center. Most of them have lost not only their homes, but also their jobs. Now, the empowered Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee has instructed the holding center to be vacated by the 19th, after receiving 25,000 for self-management. ‘We reached the holding center after taking everything. Now it says go from here too.’ Why should we leave the place that the government has given us,' said 60-year-old Januka Pokharel, who has been living in the holding center of Kirtipur, 'Instead, we will return to the slum, or we will stay here, how much more injustice will we have to endure.'

40-year-old Punamdevi Paswan, who has been living in Kirtipur, has been continuously looking for a room after the government's ultimatum. 'No one is even giving us a room. A family of 9 including 7 children. Our home has been taken away, our job has been taken away, where will we go now?', she complained. When she went to look for a room, she was asked for an advance of Rs 35,000. She was shocked. 'The 25,000 given by the government is enough for our needs,' she said.

She said that she came to the rally for justice after the government did not understand her grief. Social activist Bhagwati Adhikari, who is raising her voice for justice for landless squatters, says that the government has not listened to the displaced squatters even though they have raised their voices for their rights. Referring to the government's pressure to leave the camps, she says, "The government had deployed Prabhu Bank employees to make it mandatory to open accounts for continuous service facilities. But now, they are demanding the old account details by paying 25,000 rupees to vacate the settlement. Many have rejected this amount and have demanded that their houses and land be returned as an alternative, not money."

She alleges that the Bagmati Civilization is forcing them to complete the budget received from the Ministry of Urban Development by Asard by giving them a 5-7-day ultimatum. Gen-G activist Rijan Rana Magar also asked the government, "What civilization are you talking about by killing thousands of people?" When people become human, civilization comes into play, and it was our ancestors who established civilization.' He said that it was very funny to say that the government is working hard for the squatters from an AC room. He added, 'You have now talked about 15 thousand, we want to ask - Minister, how much is the rent of your flat?'