April 8, Janakpurdham – Homeless residents in Karmahiya, Bagmati Municipality of Sarlahi, staged a protest organized by the Land Rights Forum and the All Nepal Homeless Federation. The demonstrators raised slogans including “Stop Bulldozer Terror”, “Grant Housing Rights”, and “We Do Not Want Such a Government”.
According to the All Nepal Homeless Federation, approximately 9,000 landless homeless people reside in Bagmati Municipality alone. Nepali Communist Party (NCP) leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha also took part in the protest and addressed the gathering afterward.
During his speech, Leader Shrestha criticized the government for treating the homeless as less than human. “The government considers homeless people neither as humans nor citizens. The homeless must tell the government: You are not a true government,” he stated. Emphasizing that the Nepali Constitution guarantees housing rights to citizens, he condemned the forced eviction of homeless residents as illegal. Shrestha called on all homeless people to launch a resistance campaign against the government. While acknowledging that truth and justice currently appear weak, he expressed hope that ultimately truth will prevail and encouraged everyone to remain courageous.
“Most authoritarian regimes arise from elections; world history shows this,” he said. “Modern societies do not accept authoritarian governments that diminish public trust.” He further insisted that, except under emergency circumstances, the state should provide official land deeds (Lalpurja) to homeless residents where they currently live. “State land is also the land of the homeless, and they must be granted the land they have tilled and worked on,” Shrestha added.
