In the Three Number Bridge area of Bara, the Division Forest Office launched a bulldozer operation demolishing nearly 100 homes and businesses. Minakumari Rumba’s newly built house, constructed just three days earlier using a loan, was razed by the bulldozer. Locals and entrepreneurs protested the government’s decision, claiming they were not given adequate time to vacate the land for which they had received ownership certificates.
On the morning of Friday, 1 Jestha, the team from the Division Forest Office arrived at the Three Number Bridge area with a bulldozer while Minakumari was having tea. Dough was prepared to bake sel roti for customers expected throughout the day. Minakumari had no idea that her house, built only three days before, would soon be demolished. Rumors of the demolition had spread the previous afternoon, but she did not fear the destruction since she had just replaced her old house a month earlier, leaving enough space under the road’s jurisdiction. Moreover, the local government had issued ownership documents for the land, fueling hopes of clear title deeds.
However, those hopes were shattered shortly after when 2-3 police officers entered her yard. Panicked, she called relatives and sought help from the ward chairperson, but to no avail. Her house, constructed with a loan at 3 percent monthly interest just three days ago, was demolished before her eyes. The Division Forest Office of Bara coordinated the operation with the Division Road Office from Hetauda and the Parsa National Park team to demolish nearly 100 establishments belonging to about 50 local entrepreneurs.
“Not only was my house destroyed, but from today my hope and trust in the government is also lost,” Minakumari expressed despondently. She has been running a hotel business at Three Number Bridge for nearly three decades. Having demolished her old wooden hotel last month, she had just completed building the new house. “If the government had issued a prior notice explaining the demolition, why would I have taken a loan to build a house?” she asked. “We thought the new government would bring progress, but it turned out otherwise,” she added.
Minakumari’s husband passed away in 2012 (2069 BS). After demolishing the old wooden house that had belonged to her late husband, she had planned to run her business from the new structure. Now, with her business premises lost, she fears how she will repay the loan. Besides this location, she only owns approximately two kathas of agricultural land in Dhukuwabas village, which is also government land. “Who knows when the government might force us out from there as well?” she wondered.
Most homes in the Three Number Bridge area were used for hotel businesses famous for serving traditional dishes to travelers journeying through the East-West Highway’s Hetauda-Pathlaiya section. This small market is recognized as a resting place for thousands of travelers daily. According to Shambhu Khadgi, president of the Hotel and Tourism Entrepreneurs Association of Bara, daily business turnover exceeded 1 million rupees here. Yet, since Friday, the government’s demolition has permanently displaced these hospitality providers.
The government had awarded ownership certificates and issued assurances for land titles prior to initiating the demolitions. However, locals claim that although their settlements were previously recognized and ownership laid out, officials conducted the bulldozer operation without adequate coordination. Local resident Anil Pakhrin criticized the injustice, explaining they had been granted land ownership and occupancy permits in the past. When the forest office announced the demolitions via loudspeakers on Thursday afternoon, Anil and others took their ownership documents to the Jeetpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City for assistance. Their main plea was for time to relocate their belongings, but no authorities responded.
“We sought help from ward chairpersons, the mayor, and federal parliamentarians, but no one listened,” Anil said, also lamenting that recently elected lawmakers are not even answering calls. “Even though local government had distributed ownership documents and promised titles, they did not coordinate to allow time for moving out,” he added.
In 2020 (2077 BS), Ward Office No. 22 of Jeetpur Simara had surveyed and issued occupancy rights to residents in this unauthorized settlement. These documents raised locals’ expectations for land title deeds from the Land Commission. According to local resident Deepakkumar Lama, the Bandavi Community Forest was established in 1998 (2055 BS) with the Three Number Bridge area officially recognized as a settlement. Although the 1985 (2044 BS) survey classified this region as forest land, the 1998 forest formation reinstated its status as residential. Based on this, ownership certificates were granted in 2020. Further, three years ago, the ward informed the Land Management Office that 24.96 hectares of this land were residential and ownership was accordingly distributed.
Locals are deeply disappointed that these longstanding recognitions were disregarded and the bulldozer operation carried out suddenly. Deepakkumar Lama said, “No matter the government, it is ours. We are its citizens and yet today we are treated like non-citizens, ignoring our history.”
The Division Forest Office chief, Sujit Kumar Jha, defended the operation, stating that settlements in forest and park areas must be removed. He claimed that multiple announcements and written notices were issued but ignored by locals, forcing the authorities to proceed.
Conversely, Mohan Sharma, president of the Jeetpur Simara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, accused the government of suppressing entrepreneurs by demolishing properties without allowing sufficient time for relocation. “Not just businessmen, but the fundamental human rights of locals have been violated by the state,” Sharma stated.
