Local residents of the Balkhu area have voiced serious dissatisfaction and anger regarding the removal process of unauthorized structures and informal settlements. Ambika Puri accused authorities of attempting to dismantle the settlement without prior notice and relocating residents onto the road without providing alternative arrangements. She further stated that the metropolitan municipality made no prior provisions and that the use of bulldozers caused damage to their property. April 30, Kathmandu.
The move to remove unauthorized structures and informal settlements in Balkhu has triggered strong unrest among the local population. Ambika Puri, who lives with her family of seven in the informal settlement at Balkhu, expressed her distress over the sudden eviction attempts without prior notification. “We have been displaced onto the roads without any alternative arrangements,” she said.
Puri highlighted that she and others had worked hard over time to establish proper living conditions and demanded that before demolishing the settlement, appropriate management and provisions for relocation to safe places should be in place. Commenting on the governance of Kathmandu Metropolitan Mayor Balendra Shah, she said initial hopes for positive change had been raised, but now the residents are facing significant hardship and disappointment. She added, “We were not informed at all. If we had been given notice, at the very least we could have safely moved our belongings.”
