KATHMANDU, APRIL 30
The District Administration Office, Kathmandu has issued an urgent notice ordering the immediate evacuation of all unauthorised settlements along riverbanks and on encroached government, public, and privately owned land across the district, with enforced clearance set to begin from 7:00 am on May 1.
The notice, issued on Wednesday, directs all residents living in illegally built structures in high-risk areas across municipalities within Kathmandu district to vacate by the evening of April 30. The operation will be carried out simultaneously from multiple locations across the district.
Residents are instructed to immediately vacate structures built in hazard-prone zones and to prioritise the safe relocation of vulnerable family members - including the sick, disabled, elderly, pregnant women, new mothers, and young children - through safe routes before the deadline. Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, and local security personnel have been deployed to assist in the safe transfer of those requiring support, including individuals needing ambulance services. Security forces will also help residents move personal belongings, clothing, livestock, and poultry to other locations.
The DAO has stated that genuinely landless individuals and families will be provided with alternative accommodation by the government on a priority basis, while those wrongly registered as landless will be identified and brought under legal jurisdiction.
The notice comes ahead of the monsoon season, when illegal riverbank settlements in Kathmandu's urban and peri-urban areas are most vulnerable to flooding and other disaster risks.