BIRATNAGAR: Commercial shops surrounding Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar are being rapidly vacated after the hospital administration warned it would deploy bulldozers this coming Monday to demolish 26 encroached structures.

With one day left until the seven-day deadline given by the hospital expires, businessmen started moving goods from the shutters and emptying the structures as of Saturday. The hospital is preparing to demolish 26 commercial structures under four organizations built on land under its ownership starting Monday.

Earlier on Friday, organizing a press conference, the hospital administration had made it clear that if the encroached structures were not removed, they would be demolished using bulldozers. According to the hospital’s Public Relations Officer Navaraj Luintel, ‘red stickers’ have also already been pasted on the shops’ shutters to be demolished.

The hospital administration clarified that the main buildings of Ganesh Mandir, Tuberculosis Relief Society, Nepal Red Cross Society, and Devkota Library will not be demolished immediately. The hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr Chandrabhal Jha, informed that only the 26 shutters rented out for commercial purposes will be removed.

According to the hospital, at least five commercial shops on the Ganesh Mandir premises, nine of the Tuberculosis Relief Society, six of the Nepal Red Cross Society, and six shops under the Devkota Library will be demolished. The respective organizations have been collecting hundreds of thousands of rupees in monthly rent from those shutters.

Even though the hospital had previously issued a 15-day notice, the structures were not emptied, after which Home Minister Sudan Gurung and Health Minister Nisha Mehta conducted an on-site inspection and directed the removal of the encroached structures within seven days. The hospital stated that the process of removing the encroachment moved forward following the ministers’ direction and the initiative of the local administration.

The four organizations have been operating commercial shutters for a long time on highly valuable land falling under various plot numbers in Biratnagar-7 owned by Koshi Hospital. The hospital stated that it has advanced the campaign to remove encroached structures to implement its own master plan and utilize the land under its ownership.