Normal life has been affected in Lalitpur district due to a Lalitpur bandh called by locals to protest the government’s plan to resettle squatters evicted from encroached land in the Thapathali area at Sundarighat, Balkhu.

Shops and businesses in the main market center including factories, industries, and academic institutions remain closed since early morning today while very few public and private buses were seen on the road due to the day-long strike organised to protest the government move.

Agitated Lalitpur locals are organising various protest programs even as the government has started constructing 48 bamboo huts at Sundarighat for squatters who were evicted from Thapathali area two months ago to make way for an urban development project. Rs 2.2 million has already been released by the government for the purpose.

Demonstrators have been clashing with the police almost on a daily basis since the past few days, have obstructed vehicular movement and burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, demanding that the government stop construction of huts immediately and shelve the settlement plan. They claim settlement of evicted squatters in Sundarighat will have negative impact on its environment and tarnish its natural beauty.

The government had earlier planned to resettle the evicted squatters on the premises of Himal Cement Factory in Chobhar, but had to back off after local objected to the move.

The bamboo huts having a single room with toilets and water supply is being made to house around 50 families. nepalnews.com

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