Bulldozers remove hundreds along Bagmati river

Nepali authorities began demolishing riverside squatter settlements in Kathmandu on April 25, clearing homes along the Bagmati River with bulldozers and heavy police deployment. (kathmandupost.com) (bssnews.net) The first major clearance was in Thapathali, where officials said residents had been told to leave and many had already moved belongings out on April 24. Those without another place to go were taken to Dasharath Stadium for registration before transfer to temporary sites. (kathmandupost.com) Kathmandu Chief District Officer Ishwar Raj Paudel said Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and municipal police were assisting residents and that no force had been needed by Saturday morning. Khabarhub reported about 40% of Thapathali’s structures had been removed peacefully by midday. (kathmandupost.com) (english.khabarhub.com) Other temporary destinations named by the administration included Satsang Bhawan in Kirtipur, an Agricultural Development Bank training center in Bhaktapur, a government building in Kharipati and other vacant land. Officials said Ministry of Urban Development teams would decide which families qualified for temporary housing support. (kathmandupost.com) The operation reaches beyond one settlement. Reports from April 25 said around 146 families were being removed from Thapathali and nearly 200 from Gairigaun as part of a two-day drive targeting Bagmati riverbank settlements and other public land in Kathmandu Valley. (english.mathrubhumi.com) (thehimalayantimes.com) Officials have framed the demolitions as a cleanup of public land, flood-prone zones and river corridors. Prime Minister Balendra Shah, elected earlier in 2026 after serving as Kathmandu mayor, had previously tried to remove similar settlements from the capital’s riverbanks. (english.mathrubhumi.com) (kathmandupost.com) That history helps explain why the evictions are bigger than a local demolition story. Nepal News reported an estimated 2.1 million people in Nepal live without formal land rights, after decades of commissions and pledges that failed to settle who qualifies as landless and who gets land. (english.nepalnews.com) Residents described the clearance as abrupt and disorienting. The Kathmandu Post reported families who had lived in Thapathali for years or decades were told to carry only bedding and clothes, while scrap from dismantled homes was left behind. (kathmandupost.com) Rights groups had warned before the operation that forced evictions without consultation, legal safeguards and housing arrangements could leave already marginalized families homeless. Amnesty International said on April 24 that any eviction should meet international human rights standards and avoid rendering people destitute. (amnestynepal.org) (ekantipur.com) By April 26, the cleared stretch of the Bagmati in Thapathali was rubble, and evicted families were still waiting to learn whether temporary shelter would turn into a permanent address. (kathmandupost.com)