A great controversy was created when the squatters in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City were forced to remove the settlements near the Bagmati River. Before being elected, Balen Shah said that there is no development by removing the slums of the poor, and that development works should be done with long-term thinking for the slum dwellers. Although there were some real squatters there, some people who had houses in Kathmandu were also living there.
Squatters on the banks of Bagmati and Thapathali are not considered to live in the building in Ward No. 1 of Nagarjun Municipality. They have built 5 buildings which were completed in 2071. 40 families can be accommodated in one of the five-storeyed buildings, but these buildings are now abandoned. Now the buildings are not in use and billions of rupees of the state have gone. The locals have said that they are surprised that the people who roam around with khukuri do not want to stay in the concrete buildings.
The Integrated Bagmati Civilization Development Committee had issued a notice to vacate the settlement with a deadline of 4th December. The committee issued a notice and asked to remove the houses and construction materials and vehicles constructed illegally on the river bank. They pelted stones at the team of the metropolis saying that the locals started removing it without alternative arrangements. The locals said that they have been living in this settlement for a long time and now they cannot evict them without making arrangements.
There was tension on Monday when the team of the metropolis reached the slum with a dozer to remove the squatter settlement on the Bagmati bank in Thapathali, Kathmandu. The team including DSP Raju Pandey, who has been working continuously day and night to make Kathmandu Metropolitan City clean, beautiful and peaceful, was injured. He has said that he wants to control the slums as they are becoming a hotbed of crime.
Raju Pandey said that the police of the metropolis are actively involved in the work of development. Many people have said that their role in controlling them will be important as many people are staying away from the squatters to do immoral activities there. He said that if he is working with empty hands, he will be attacked by making a plan in advance, so he will also adopt full security measures in the future. Nowadays, the incident that happened in the much-loved squatter settlement is being heavily criticized on social media. Regarding the incident, CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Oli strongly criticized Balen Shah for calling him a boss.
