KASKI: Pokhara Metropolitan City has begun clearing the site for a modern bus park at Prithvi Chowk by removing commercial structures built within the proposed project area.

Shutters and stalls along the northern side of the petrol pump line, including the Bastola Complex, have been dismantled.

The area has since been cleaned and leveled, marking the first major step toward the construction of the bus park nearly five decades after the land was acquired for the project in 1973.

While the metropolis has cleared structures standing on privately owned plots within the bus park boundary, the more complex task of relocating landless people remains unresolved. A total of 572 households have settled on the land across three landless people communities within the project site.

Mayor Dhanraj Acharya said the metropolitan city will not evict residents without first arranging an alternative place for them to live. According to him, authorities are currently verifying documents and reviewing the details of families residing in the settlements.

“Some individuals have been found to have submitted incorrect information regarding their family background and eligibility,” Acharya said. “If false information is confirmed, legal action will be taken. Once the verification process is completed, we will move forward with the relocation of the settlements.”

The mayor said the city has repeatedly assured residents that they would not be displaced without proper resettlement arrangements. However, he claimed that some individuals with no direct connection to the settlements have entered the area and attempted to spread misinformation among residents. He urged people not to be influenced by such activities.

The land occupied by the Bastola Complex and the petrol pump line, which was recently cleared using bulldozers, remains under private ownership. Although the area was acquired for the bus park project in 1973, the then Pokhara Valley Town Development Committee later decided to distribute replacement land and residential plots within the acquired boundary.

To investigate issues related to those decisions, the metropolitan city recently formed a judicial committee led by a former judge. The committee has yet to submit its report.

Meanwhile, residents of the squatter settlements say they are willing to vacate the area if the government provides an alternative place to live.

Prem Gurung, chairman of the Landless People Concern Committee, said the community has no intention of obstructing the long-awaited project.

“The bus park has remained unbuilt for years, and we are often blamed for the delay,” Gurung said. “We are not against development. If the metropolis shows us where we can relocate and live, we are ready to leave.”