Kathmandu, January 18

Participants of Occupy Tundikhel campaign today displayed dozens of historic photos of Khula Manch outside the National Trauma Centre today in a bid to make people aware of how the open space in the heart of the city had helped people in past.

Activists have been organising various programmes every Saturday since the campaign was launched on November 9 last year to exert pressure on the government to vacate the encroached space in Khula Manch, which is part of Tundikhel.

The activists also want the government to ensure easy public access to the Nepali Army-occupied part of Tundikhel.

Khula Manch, which once used to be one of the major venues for all kinds of political campaigns, has remained neglected since the 2015 earthquakes. Khula Manch has also been occupied by various government supported development projects.

Sanjay Adhikari, one of the participants in the photo exhibition, said, “With our little efforts, we want to spread awareness among the people about the importance of open spaces, while at the same time exert pressure on the government to manage more open spaces in urban areas.”