Manohara Squatter Demolition Resumes Under Guard

Kathmandu Metropolitan City resumed demolitions at the Manohara riverbank settlement on Sunday, April 26, under heavy police guard after clashes stopped work a day earlier. (english.onlinekhabar.com) (kathmandupost.com) Bulldozers moved into the Bhaktapur-side settlement in the morning, and officials said 777 structures were marked for clearance along the river corridor. (kathmandupost.com) (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) Bhaktapur police said 1,300 Nepal Police personnel and 600 Armed Police Force personnel were mobilized for the operation. Police also carried elderly and sick residents to safer locations, including one woman on a stretcher. (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) (english.onlinekhabar.com) The renewed demolition followed violence on Saturday, April 25, when residents protested and threw stones as crews tried to raze houses. At least 14 people were injured in the clash, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Navaraj Dhungana, according to The Kathmandu Post; Republica reported 22 security personnel were hurt. (kathmandupost.com) (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) Manohara is one front in a broader Kathmandu Valley campaign to clear settlements from riverbanks including Thapathali, Gairigaun, Shantinagar and Sinamangal. Authorities began the wider drive on April 25 after public notices ordering residents to leave. (kathmandupost.com) (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) Officials say displaced families are first being registered at Dasharath Stadium and then sent to temporary sites, while the government checks who qualifies as a “genuine landless squatter.” The Prime Minister’s Office said verified households would be offered permanent housing within 15 days. (kathmandupost.com) (english.onlinekhabar.com) Residents have said the two-to-three-day notice left little time to find rooms, move belongings or secure storage. Some families in these settlements told local media they had lived on the riverbanks for years or decades. (kathmandupost.com 1) (kathmandupost.com 2) Amnesty International Nepal said on April 24 that reports of forced evictions of hundreds in Kathmandu raised serious human rights concerns and warned against removals without adequate alternatives. The United National Squatter Front Nepal also said using security forces without relocation arrangements would violate rights. (amnestynepal.org) (kathmandupost.com) Police and government officials have defended the operation as a riverbank encroachment clearance tied to relocation and verification. By Sunday, the bulldozers were back in Manohara, and the dispute had shifted from whether the homes would fall to where the displaced families would go next. (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) (english.onlinekhabar.com)