Squatter families who have left the holding centres in Nagarkot and Bode say they have been left stranded after failing to find rental accommodation. They claim that the Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee dropped them off at locations such as Koteshwor and Balaju, leaving them to fend for themselves.
According to the displaced families, the government had collected everyone’s bank account details and, from June 26, instructed them to begin searching for rental rooms.
“The government told us that money would be deposited into our bank accounts and that we should somehow find rooms and arrange everything ourselves,” Deepak Thapa, who had been staying at the holding centre set up at the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation premises in Nagarkot, told Onlinekhabar.
On July 3, the government deposited Rs 25,000 into the bank accounts of all residents of the holding centres. Thapa said that on Monday, buses operated by the Bagmati Civilization Committee transported residents from the holding centre and dropped them off at Koteshwor.
As he was unable to secure a room before leaving the holding centre, Thapa said he is currently staying with relatives. Displaced from the Shantinagar-Gairigaun area, he hopes to find accommodation in the same locality.
“The government had said it would provide Rs 15,000 per month for house rent. Whether it will actually provide it, and if so, how we are supposed to receive it, we have no idea,” he said.
“They dropped us off at different places from Koteshwor to Balaju and told us to manage on our own with the money we had received, saying a long-term solution would come later,” Thapa added. “Those who managed to find rooms went there, while others said they would stay with relatives. I don’t know where everyone ended up. I have come to stay with my relatives.”
Another displaced woman alleged that the government had effectively forced them to leave the holding centre.
“They shut down the canteen. Once that happened, there was no way we could continue staying there. And how can anyone find a room within ten days? Even Rs 25,000 is not enough,” she said. “I’m staying with a friend now. The government has left us in a desperate situation.”
Pawan Gurung, who had been staying at the Kharipati holding centre, also said he had been unable to find accommodation. Gurung, who is also the vice-chairperson of the United National Squatters Front, told Onlinekhabar on Monday, “I spent the entire day looking for a room but couldn’t find one. I’m stranded on the road, soaked by the rain.”
However, Top Bahadur Baniya, information officer at the Bagmati Civilization Committee, denied that the committee had abandoned the displaced families. He said transportation had been arranged on Monday to take residents from the holding centres in Bode and Nagarkot to the destinations of their choice.
