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Kathmandu Wednesday December 12, 2001 Marga 27, 2058.
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Locals of Maitighar await govt
reaction
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Dec 11 - Eighty-two years old
Indira Devi Parajuli was shocked when her sons told her that the land she bought 40 years
ago would be blown out to make a garden.
"That was a devastating news. How can we
leave our homes and feelings associated with the house within 15 days?" she asked.
The Parajuli family bought 3 ropanis of land
in 1960s at Maitighar, ward No. 11 and after several years, almost half of her land was
taken by the government to construct the Arniko Highway.
She divided the land among her five sons who
earn enough to live by the rent and now the area gives the families enough rent too, as it
lies today in the central business.
She said that the 13 families living today in
around 2 ropani area of Maitighar junction did not oppose the government to acquire the
land as such.
"But we must be notified in time and be
given enough time to manage our property or be given a substitute land," she
demanded. "It was just a week ago my son constructed a new room in his home and made
a new kitchen there," she said.
The families, according to Parajuli, have not
even been formally given any notice about the acquisition even after a week and there are
only a week left to evacuate the land.
They said the government did not even try to
involve the locals in the development activities in a humane way.
Mayor of Kathmandu Keshav Sthapit today held
a meeting at Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office (KMC) with the locals to find some
solutions to the suddenly arisen problem.
The mayor said the government made the
decision and KMC was just a medium to implement it. But he could manage a house in rent
for the time being until the locals do not find any residence.
"I proposed them to shift to a rented
house for a couple of months on the municipality’s expenses. I personally want to
help them because all the decisions were made suddenly," he said.
The cabinet meeting of December 3 decided to
acquire around 50 ropanis of the disputed land of Tinkune at Koteshowr and the Maitighar
junction to develop the areas into modern gardens before the 11th Summit of South Asian
Association for Regional Co-operation takes place on January 4, 2002.
And the Ministry of Physical Planning and
Works handed over the right to clear the Maitighar area to KMC and also to develop a
garden on the cleared area.
KMC officials said that the making of a
garden would not be difficult to construct a Mandala-shaped garden with a water pond on
it. "It will take four or five days to demolish the houses if we use all the
demolishing equipment we have," he said.
Similarly, KMC is widening the road at
Jamal-Tindhara, demolishing three major constructions beside the historical water pond of
Ranipokhari, the officials said.
The Ministry for Physical Planning and Works is
on the way to acquire the land at Tinkune and develop a garden on that area.
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