BIRGUNJ, JULY 6 The long-awaited road expansion drive in Birgunj resumed on Monday morning, with bulldozers moving in under heavy police protection to remove houses, shops and commercial structures built within the road's right of way. The operation, jointly carried out by the Hetauda Road Division Office and Birgunj Metropolitan City, is part of the project to widen the city's main road to 25 metres on each side. The campaign had slowed in recent weeks due to legal proceedings and protests by affected residents. However, the local administration relaunched the drive with heightened security measures. On Sunday night, officials from the metropolitan city and the Road Division Office conducted public announcements through loudspeakers, urging residents and business owners to vacate buildings and move valuables to safer locations before demolition began. According to the metropolitan office, the final warning was intended to minimise human and property losses during the demolition. Following the announcement, many shopkeepers and homeowners spent the night relocating their belongings. Security has been significantly reinforced, particularly around Gandak Chowk, where bulldozers began clearing structures. Large numbers of personnel from the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force have been deployed to prevent unrest after earlier protests led by the Birgunj Bachau Sangharsha Samiti, which had included demonstrations, tyre burning and stone-pelting. The road section from Gandak Chowk to Miteri Bridge, one of Birgunj's busiest commercial corridors, has remained at the centre of a road-widening dispute for nearly three decades. The project gained legal momentum after the Supreme Court dismissed a writ petition filed by affected property owners last Falgun, clearing the way for implementation. Despite the court's decision, the Birgunj Bachau Sangharsha Samiti has continued to oppose the campaign, arguing that residents are being displaced without adequate compensation or a clear rehabilitation plan. Birgunj Metropolitan City, however, has reiterated that widening the main road is essential to transform the city into a modern, well-managed and traffic-congestion-free urban centre, and said the drive will continue as planned.