Border dispute resolved after 44 yrs

Kavre, January 14

After 44 years, the border dispute between two wards of Bhumlu Rural Municipality in Kavre has resolved.

“The dispute had ensued following a dispute over farmland between two local communities in then Pipaltar Village Panchayat, which even resulted in a split of the existing Panchayat into two village panchayats, namely Phalante and Bhumlutar,” said Bhumlu Rural Municipality-8 Chair Motilal Tamang. He added around 1,000 households in the two erstwhile village panchayats (which are now two wards in Bhumlu RM) were yet to get land ownership certificates owing to the dispute that lingered.

Bhumlu RM-7 Chair Rameshraj Kharel said pillars were being erected to demarcate the border now.

“With resolution of the dispute, pillars are being erected on the border between the two wards now,” he said, adding that various government and non-government actors had taken the initiative to resolve the longstanding dispute. “Among others, Natural Resources Conflict Transformation Centre had been holding meeting with the local representatives of the concerned wards and the locals concerned on resolving the dispute for the past one year,” he said.

Centre coordinator Rita Manandhar said as many as 32 meetings were held to resolve the dispute. “I’m happy that finally we’ve resolved the longstanding dispute,” she said.

Meanwhile, with the resolution of the dispute, district land survey office has set up its field office in Ward No 8 to re-survey the land and distribute land ownership certificates.