All about photography, travel in Nepal | Sangesh Shrestha

Thank You guys for your help

This day will be recorded in the history book of Kathmandu valley. Bagmati River is important part of this valley. Since last few decades many parts of this river were illegally capture by people at different places in the name of homeless people, so called sukumbasi.

In last few years we saw similar activities at the river bank around Thapathali. First we saw people with some bamboo house and in the last 2 years we saw some concrete houses; they even have church, school and a day care center. It turned out to be a small village within the metropolis.

INGO’s day care center or church ?

One question always came in my mind, if these people with concrete houses are sukumbasi, how come they make illegal house on illegal land that they capture? Why is the government quiet? Are they the ‘vote banks’ of some political parties?

Now I don’t want to find answer to them, I think they will be unanswered. But finally the government took a bold step to take them out from there. It has been a year-long fight between government and sukumbasi.

It is the first step which started from Thapathali. Now hope the government will soon take action around Tripureshwor, Balkhu and many others places where people have captured the land of our holy river.

We need to support the government in it’s work to save the land of Bagmati River and hope the government will soon sort out the real and fake sukumbasi people and give good relief package program to those who are the real sukumbasi people.

Hope soon they will have a project to make the river clean and we can see clear water running around our city.

Before the officials start to demolish the houses

Three hours after the demolition started

They were given 15 days time but ….. any way they were given some time to take away their belonging

Where to go now? stupid us, we obeyed our leaders now no house to stay

The whole place looks like a war zone

A woman staring at what used to be her home

Security personnel in stand-by, just in case

Tool used today

Security personals were across the river also

Finally work is done with less tension, thank god it was done with out using our force

Video of the day

Demolishing sukumbasi basti at Thapathali

Demolishing sukumbasi basti at Thapathali – Footage 2

Demolishing sukumbasi basti at Thapathali – Footage 3

*Other related post

My Tear Drops for holy river Bagmati

Where is the land of the holy River Bagmati