KATHMANDU: On April 22, 2026, the fear of eviction spread through the squatter settlement in Thapathali. This panic ensued after Prime Minister Balendra Shah summoned the heads of security agencies and ordered the settlement to be cleared.

Amidst the fear, Upama Thapa Magar’s family had hoped the government would provide an alternative place to stay or allow time to move their belongings. However, things did not go as they imagined. On April 25, bulldozers arrived to demolish the settlement.

In an instant, the squatter settlement turned into rubble, and many families, including Upama Thapa Magar’s, were displaced.

Though it appeared to be a cramped hut from the outside, for Upama, it was a grand world. That world crumbled as bulldozers operated under the mobilization of security personnel.Currently taking refuge at the Kirtipur Holding Center arranged by the government, she says, “I couldn’t say anything that day. I just sat on a platform. I took out as many belongings as I could. I felt like we had no one. I only prayed for one thing—that no one else’s house ever faces a bulldozer again.”

Upama’s family had been making a living through daily wage labor while living in the Thapathali settlement for 23 years. She explains that her parents moved to Kathmandu from Ramechhap because they had no land or house in the hills.

She completed her studies up to Grade 12 while living in that settlement. She appeared for her SEE from Guheshwori Secondary School and finished her high school from Patan Secondary School.

Her father is 63 and her mother is 56. As old age has set in, they are no longer in a position to carry heavy loads or perform manual labor. Due to the financial crisis at home, Upama was unable to pursue her undergraduate studies.

“Previously, my parents worked in others’ homes and did manual labor. Now, they can’t,” Upama shares.

For this reason, she quit her studies and started working to improve the household situation. She had even planned to go abroad, hoping to bring more happiness to her parents.

“After my sisters got married, the responsibility of looking after my parents fell solely on my shoulders. So, I started teaching. I saved some money,” she says, sharing her grief. “My parents had also saved some money through labor. But a broker took all that saved money under the pretext of sending me to Croatia.” On one hand, her dream of going abroad was shattered, and on the other, the money saved through hardship was lost. After that, she was forced to struggle just to find a basis for survival. In the process, she began doing domestic work.

For about a year, she had been the support for her elderly parents, earning income from childcare and other domestic tasks.

It was during this time that April 25 reminded her of the devastating earthquake exactly 11 years ago in 2015.”Another earthquake struck my life. The house was being demolished, and at that time, my parents weren’t even with me; I didn’t know where they were. We didn’t even get a chance to take out our large belongings,” she remembers.

After the settlement was demolished, the police provided Upama shelter in a hotel. Her parents, however, were taken to the Radha Soami Satsang in Sundarighat, Kirtipur. She was only able to meet her parents after three days of restlessness. Now, the entire family is taking refuge in that temporary camp.

Upama has lost contact with the house where she worked as a domestic helper. Despite repeated calls, the employer has not picked up the phone. She says, “Maybe they stopped answering because they found out I am a landslide settler. It’s not easy to find work in another place now. I have no idea where to go or what to do.”

It’s not just her family; the livelihoods of most families taking refuge at the Radha Soami Satsang in Sundarighat relied on daily wage labor. Conversations with the family members there reveal that they have lost their jobs following the displacement. Staying under police surveillance, they haven’t been able to look for work or return to a normal life.

Difference between words and actions

Minister for Urban Development Sunil Lamsal and Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Pratibha Rawal had committed that settlements would not be removed without proper management and that locals would be pre-notified.

Both ministers had issued a press note in the government spokesperson’s WhatsApp group, stating that land would not be vacated until a management framework was prepared. Rawal had said the government’s plan was to vacate government land only after the identification and management of the squatters. Even the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a circular to all District Administration Offices to take this matter seriously.

Deepa Dahal, Press and Research Expert for Prime Minister Balendra Shah, had also claimed that the dignified relocation of squatters was being carried out humanely. Through a press note, she had said, “There is no reason for genuine settlers to worry. The government is working in a planned manner for their safe management.” The note even gave assurances of safe housing, medical treatment, and nutritious food.

However, in practice, on the day the press note was issued, a large number of police along with Armed Police Force personnel were deployed, and bulldozers moved into the squatter settlement in Balkhu. Nursing mothers, women, and children were left in a state of abandonment. 61-year-old landless Indra Bahadur Rai even committed suicide, unable to bear the pain of displacement.

Complaints have started to emerge that those kept in various holding centers, including Kirtipur, are facing not only food and housing issues but also mental and physical health problems. Although government ministers, spokespersons, and expert advisors claimed they would manage the situation, no concrete steps have been seen, while the demolition of settlements without notice continues.

In this context, protests are ongoing at Maitighar, claiming the government has abandoned the landless by using bulldozers. Civil society and human rights activists are describing the government’s action as “atrocity against the poor.”

Gen Z activist Rijan Rana Magar says, “You cannot evict someone without ensuring a place to stay. The government has done a great injustice by evicting the landless without putting forward a clear plan.”

Those protesting at Maitighar have raised issues regarding the safety and health of pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the elderly from the displaced settlements, as well as the education of children, urging the government to be sensitive.

“Does the government not know about the basic right to live? It is not right to snatch the shelter of the marginalized and leave them in a lurch,” says Rana.

Senior Advocate Raju Prasad Chapagain states that the government’s sudden use of force against landless settlers is unconstitutional and inhumane.

“The government is walking the wrong path by trampling on the rights of citizens,” he says. “Seeking a solution by evicting landless settlers is another crime. This is an illegal and inhumane act.”

He states that the government has displaced landless settlers while ignoring the Constitution, fundamental rights, and human rights.

“Instead of collecting data, verifying, and ensuring housing for the citizens living in squatter settlements, the state choosing the path of displacing them is not appropriate,” he says.

Activist Bhagwati Adhikari believes the government has committed an atrocity by displacing the landless in the name of management. She says, “The government says ‘management’ in its words, but in practice, it is displacing them. This is not right.”