Security deployed at Thapathali slum eviction
- Kathmandu authorities began demolishing the Thapathali riverside settlement on April 25 after deploying Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and metropolitan police to clear huts built on Bagmati riverbank land. - Officials said about 40 percent of structures were removed in the first phase, while six families who said they were homeless were taken to Dasharath Stadium and 23 families were registered. - The push follows years of failed eviction attempts and court-backed pressure to clear Bagmati riverbanks while screening “genuine” landless families for relocation (kathmandupost.com)
Kathmandu authorities began demolishing the Thapathali riverside settlement on Saturday, April 25, after deploying Nepal Police, Armed Police Force Nepal and metropolitan police along the Bagmati. (kathmandupost.com 1) (kathmandupost.com 2) Bulldozers moved in from about 8 a.m., and officials said the clearance in Thapathali was proceeding without the clashes that derailed earlier attempts. (english.ratopati.com) (kathmandupost.com) Chief District Officer Ishwor Raj Paudel said roughly 40 percent of huts in the area had been removed during the operation. Ratopati reported that residents who stayed after a Friday notice spent the night rushing out clothes, livestock and other belongings. (english.ratopati.com 1) (english.ratopati.com 2) The government said it was not treating every family the same. Teams from the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority and the Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee started screening displaced residents at Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar. (thehimalayantimes.com) By 1:30 p.m. on April 25, officials had registered 23 families there, and six families who said they had no place to go were moved to the stadium, according to officials and local media. (thehimalayantimes.com) (english.ratopati.com) The clearance is part of a wider first phase targeting settlements in Thapathali, Manohara, Sinamangal and Gairigaun. Police had used loudspeakers on April 23 and April 24 to order residents in Thapathali to leave by Friday evening. (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) The politics around Thapathali have been building for years. A November 2022 eviction attempt turned violent, with city police and residents clashing after authorities tried to remove the settlement. (kathmandupost.com) That history shaped the current plan. The Kathmandu Post reported in July 2024 that a court ruling was expected to strengthen Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s effort to clear Bagmati riverbanks while separating “genuine” landless families from other occupants. (kathmandupost.com) New reporting has sharpened that dispute. myRepublica said nearly 90 percent of people identified in the Thapathali eviction had land ownership elsewhere, a finding officials and critics are using to argue over who should qualify for state support. (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com) For residents, the immediate issue was simpler than the legal categories. Families watched roofs come down before dawn and said they were waiting to see whether screening would lead to relocation or another stretch of uncertainty. (kathmandupost.com)
