New Delhi:
Hundreds of people came out on the roads in Nepal’s Kathmandu today in protest against the government’s move to evict squatters without a resettlement plan.
This is the first major challenge against the government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah, who had supported the fierce Gen-Z protest last year that ended the reign of KP Sharma Oli and his team.
The protest that began against the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Police has been going on for some days. It escalated sharply after many young people criticised the government for evicting and relocating landless people to holding centres. The latest protest, which has a distinct Gen-Z character, highlighted the “inhuman” living conditions of the evicted people.
Local reports said some activists, students and journalists have been arrested for raising the issues of people forced to live at the holding centres.
Earlier this month, a 25-year-old protester, Ganesh Nepali, set himself on fire in Kathmandu after the city police allegedly placed a wheel lock on his motorcycle.
Today’s protest organised by the Joint National Squatters Front happened outside a major government office in Nepal’s capital city. The sea of people – a bulk of them using Gen-Z language and methods – carried placards with slogans like ‘end atrocity against the poor, respect human rights, stop illegal arrest and provide shelter to squatters.’
The gathering has parallels with the anti-government protests that erupted in the Himalayan nation last year.
Matters deteriorated after floods hit a settlement in Kathmandu where 150 evicted people had been housed on Friday. They were evacuated with the help of the security forces. The next day a large group of Gen-Z activists reached there to check what’s going on. The police then launched a baton-charge to clear the crowd. One of the activists, injured on his face in the police action, had to be hospitalised.
Nepali Congress president Gagan Kumar Thapa criticised the Balen Shah government for arresting the activists and sought their release.
In Koshi province, 206 km from the capital city, the police today arrested 26 people for raising their voice in support of the arrested Gen-Z protesters.
The evictions started in April in different parts of Kathmandu valley and other areas across Nepal. The structures of over 2,600 families comprising 15,000 people were dismantled as part of the drive. Of them, 325 families have been living in temporary holding centres in different parts of Kathmandu.
The Nepal government on July 2 ordered the squatters to leave the holding centres by July 6. At least 60 families refused to leave, saying they have nowhere else to go.
The Gen-Z protest is likely to turn into a difficult issue to handle for Balen Shah, who himself rode to power on their strength. Named among the ‘Top 100 Emerging Leaders of 2023’ by Time magazine, Balen Shah rose to fame while working as the Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor. He is credited with implementing sweeping reform programmes and the beautification of the capital city.
