POKHARA: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has identified 325 households living at Pokhara Bus Park as landless after completing a detailed verification process involving landless Dalits, squatters and unorganised settlers.
The metropolitan city had invited applications from people residing at the bus park as part of efforts to manage landless households. The applications were verified through investigations conducted with the support of the respective ward offices.
According to Mayor Dhanraj Acharya, the initial applications included 200 landless Dalit households, 248 landless squatters and 116 unorganised settlers. The claims were subsequently verified through a process of claims and objections, followed by further field investigations.
The final assessment identified 144 households as landless Dalits and 181 as landless squatters, bringing the total number of landless households to 325. In addition, 242 families were identified as unorganised settlers.
Mayor Acharya said the metropolitan city would now initiate the process of managing and rehabilitating the identified landless households. He credited the ward committees for their role in preparing the verification report.
“The local level will make a decision through the executive council and forward its recommendation to the district committee for further action,” Acharya said.
He said the issue of landless settlers had reached a decisive stage and that the local government was committed to ensuring a fair solution for the affected households. The PMC will send letters to all seven district committees after a decision by its executive council.
The identified households have been occupying public land at the Pokhara Bus Park for years in the absence of effective intervention. Their relocation is expected to be the next step in the process.
Prem Gurung, coordinator of the Landless Squatters’ Concern Committee, said landless people would not oppose government efforts to develop the bus park but stressed that proper arrangements should be made before any evacuation.
“It is wrong to put the entire blame on us for the delay in expanding the bus park. There are several reasons behind the slow progress,” Gurung said. He added that the settlers were ready to cooperate with the PMC but that proper rehabilitation was essential.
The PMC acquired the land for the development of a well-equipped bus park around five decades ago. However, the project has made little progress over the years, forcing passengers to board long- and short-route vehicles from roadside areas around Prithvi Chowk.
Apart from landless settlers, some individuals had also encroached on public land. A few months ago, the PMC demolished structures built on the encroached land. The metropolitan city has announced plans to construct a modern bus park with support from donor agencies.
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