In the beginning, there were a few housesin, but as the encroachment intensified, more than 100 houses built huts illegally on the government land, informed Chief of Gulariya Municipality office Ganesh Gurung. [break]
Gurung said the criticality of the rampant encroachment was noticed when the office was searching for areas to establish a dumping site and park."We have pleaded the settlers to shift their houses somewhere else. Using stern action is not in my mind, but we are exploring better options," said Gurung:"We are in a dire need of a dumping site. Because of its absence, we are using leased land for the purpose", he rued.
Meanwhile, locals shared that the settlers should leave the land as it can be used for some bigger purposes.
In contrary to that, a member of city committee affiliated to Maoist party Indira Subedi said the government should offer the landless squatters another settlement before forcing them out."In the first place, they were displaced and left unconcerned by the government. They should be provided with proper compensations that they deserve," said Subedi.
Suggesting areas for their relocations, Subedi informed about the 3 beghas of government land located at the India-Nepal border side."Until new settlements are confirmed, the displaced locals could be relocated to the area, this will also prevent the encroachment of the land from the Indian side," said Subedi.
A squatter living in the area informed that the then municipality chief had approved their settlement."I still have the document provided by the office that states our liberty to live on the land," said a local:" We wonder where we shall be going if we have to leave this place", added the local.
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