Ugratara Area Development Committee Chairman Tej Bahadur Sanki has been trying to get the land of Ugratara Temple back for 7 years. Chairman Sanki, who has been in court since 2076 BS demanding the return of the land, has not been able to get it back yet. Even after reaching the High Court through the district, the land could not be returned due to obstacles from the locals.

In the survey of 2034/2035, there is a record of 177 ropanis of land in the name of Ugratara Temple. But the area where the original temple is located is under public land. Chairman Sanki said, "The ancient temple area, including all the structures currently built in the temple premises, are under public land."

More than 40 families are using about 100 ropanis of land of the temple. Locals have also built concrete structures on the land near the road. Although the land of Ugratara Temple is 177 ropanis in the government survey and other documents, most of the temple structures are on public land because the locals have occupied it.

The land on the right and left sides of the highway in Ugratara, Pokhara Bazaar, and around Salleshwor Gad and Sunpokhari is under the temple area. The land that is in the process of being registered in the name of the temple is located far from the temple in Pokhara Bazaar, Latauli, Khanmada, Dumada, Sirola and Salleshwor villages, says Chairman Sanki.

Despite repeated disputes over the land, the lack of interest from the concerned bodies has led to the increase in people grabbing it. There has been a long-standing dispute between the development committee and the locals over approximately 100 ropanis of land in the eastern area of ​​the temple.

When the development committee tried to use 12 ropanis of land in the eastern area of ​​the temple for the construction of a Vedic school, the residents around the temple have accused the temple of trying to seize the land they have been using since ancient times.

Local Ganesh Bahadur Sanki, on the other hand, claims that the Ugratara Area Development Committee has started a dispute over the land that his ancestors have been using. ‘We have also paid the government tax due at that time,’ he said, ‘How can the land used since 2034/035 BS belong to the Ugratara Temple  ‘The dispute has become more complicated since the temple area has not been surveyed and is now registered in the forest area,’ said Shyamraj Ojha, treasurer of the Ugratara Area Development Committee. ‘Protection of the temple is everyone’s duty, and everyone’s cooperation is needed for that.’

Most of the land in Amargadhi Municipality-7 and 8 where the temple is located has been occupied by locals. The Ugratara dispute was also investigated by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. It may have been investigated. Chetraj Bhatta, information officer at the Authority’s Mahendranagar office, said that since it was many years ago, it is not possible to say anything in detail now.

Guthi from the time of Nagi Malla

The Guthi run by Nagi Malla in the 13th century is the current Ugratara area. Locals say that the land stretching from Bhurbhure Mel in Ait in Amargadhi Municipality to Bhudya Pipal in Raimandaun to Sunpokhari in Pokhara is also under the Nagi Malla Guthi. ‘At that time, all the land donated by the locals was in the name of the Guthi.’ But there is no record of who registered the land in their name when it was acquired,’ said Ojha, treasurer of the Ugratara Area Development Committee. ‘At present, even the temple land, which is recorded in the Land Revenue Office, is in the possession of some locals.’

The court order was also not implemented

The committee had repeatedly requested the Land Revenue Office to provide a land title deed, but it did not do so, so it filed a case in the district court. Along with the District Court of Dadeldhura, the High Court of Mahendranagar has also ordered the Ugratara Area Development Committee to provide a land title deed. ‘Despite the court order, the government office has not implemented it,’ said Chairman Saki, ‘7 years have passed in the dispute.’
But he complains that the Land Revenue Office has not issued the land title deed even after the two-tier court has decided. ‘We have sent the necessary consultation to the legal department,’ said Kamalapati Bhatta, head of the Land Revenue Office Dadeldhura office, ‘It will be decided whether or not to issue the land title deed for that land only after the department’s instructions come.’

The Dadeldhura District Court had ordered the issuance of the land title deed for the development of the Ugratara area on Asoj 4, 2078. The Mahendranagar High Court had upheld the district’s order on Falgun 6, 2080.
What is the legend of Ugratara?

The Ugratara Temple, a famous religious site in the Far West, is located in Amargadhi-8. The temple is built in the pagoda style. The Sanki community of Latauli used to do agricultural work around the temple. One day, a farmer from the same Sanki caste saw a stream of blood flowing from the plowshare of the plowshare on the rock while plowing, and despite many attempts, he could not stop it. There is a legend that the river of blood started flowing. Even today, this river is known as the Talanwa River of this temple. To stop the flowing blood, the farmer applied the meat khichdi that he brought to eat to the wound on the rock, and the blood stopped flowing. Locals say that the rock was protected and the temple was built. After that, the farmer became the priest there.
A grand puja is held twice a year in the Ugratara temple. A grand puja is held on the full moon day of Kartik and Dashain according to religious tradition. A famous fair (Dehijat) is held here on the full moon day of Kartik. Thousands of devotees from the Far West Province, Karnali, and even India come to the Ugratara Bhagwati fair, which is considered a full moon day. Every year, a fair is held on the night (Ratedi) and the second day (Diusedi) of the full moon day of Kartik.