Kathmandu, May 24

"All I want and look for is justice. However, I see blatant violations of the rule of law and no sensitivity towards citizens' sufferings," said 91-year-old Priyambada Thapa.

Thapa's house located at Gaushal Chowk was unfairly bulldozed recently by Kathmandu Metropolitan City. She is a renowned educator and one of the first female B.Ed. graduates from Nepal College of Education in Nepal. She has devoted her life to teaching children in Nepal and elsewhere.

Thapa, who is 91 years old, continues to work as a social worker, focusing on children's education. In an exclusive interview with the Himalayan Times, she expressed her dissatisfaction with the sensationalism surrounding her property.

"Recently, my house in Gaushala Chowk with (house number 4947) which is one of the oldest houses in the area, was buldozzed mercilessly and the city police reiterated that they would come again and demolish it entirely," she said.

"Despite having all of the proofs and legal documents, we are being treated this way. We currently live in a rented home. If my house is demolished, where will I go with my family?"

According to her, Kathmandu Metropolitan City is unwilling to listen to her plight. "I even say that if the country needs my property to progress, I would gladly give it up. However, there will be some compensation property."

However, bulldozers in Kathmandu Metropolitan City demolished her house arbitrarily. "I have been impatiently waiting for the government and authorities to revise their legal positions, as my house is in a built up area and I have all of the necessary paperwork."

"I built the property with my hard-earned money with the intention of visiting and praying at the Pashupatinath Temple. However, my legitimate home in Gaushala, where I have lived for over sixty years, is now under threat of eviction by the local authority, which is illegally taking my home and land. I am a tax-paying, law-abiding citizen, and I am now seeking justice! Unfortunately, it appears that the local authority did not conduct a thorough investigation and is turning a blind eye," she said.

According to her son-in-law Basanta Bajracharya, the situation was exacerbated by some news outlets and social media users falsely accusing her of illegally staying there. "She is the oldest resident in Gaushala!

This injustice is incomprehensible, especially considering Mrs. Thapa's lifelong commitment to education and community service." Bajracharya stated that if the local authority wishes to take her land for development purposes, they must first pay for her property.

Earlier on May 19, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office ran dozer on the houses built encroaching on the road area in Gaushala Chowk. Four dozers were used to remove the encroached structure.

After becoming the mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Balendra Shah has launched a campaign to remove encroached structures and protect public property.

According to KMC Police Chief Rajunath Pandey, the demolition of the houses within the road boundary area on the road from Gaushala to the airport started on the first day, six houses were demolished.

"KMC had given concerned residents 35 days' notice to demolish the houses built by encroaching on the road at Gaushala Chowk. We even reminded them that after 15 days of miking, we had asked to have the house demolished. However, after the house's owner failed to evacuate it, the metropolis used a dozer," said Rajunath Pandey, the city police chief.

Similarly, KMC spokesperson Basanta Manandhar told THT, "We notified the house owner before taking action. However, they remained adamant, and KMC was forced to take strict action. Such actions have been taken after KMC began the evacuation of the encroached public land for two years, following the instructions of it Department of Roads."