Himalayan News Service

Nepalgunj, March 12:

The Banke district administration office yesterday issued an order to shift the Swatantra Nagar camp at Rajhena, where over 276 families displaced due to the conflict have been staying for the last four months, to a nearby place which the displaced people say is insecure.

The families have been staying in over 30 katthas of land at Kirankhola of Rajhena after they were displaced from various places of the mid and far-west regions due to the Maoist conflict.

The decision to shift the camp was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of CDO Dilli Raj Joshi. The meeting also decided to set up a new camp 2.5 km away from the present location.

Reacting to the DAO’s decision, Nawaraj Shahi, chairman of the Bheri-Karnali Joint Conflict-victims’ Coordination Committee, said, “We are in a difficult position after the administration asked us to shift to an insecure area.” A source at the district administration said the decision to relocate the camp was taken after the Women Police claimed ownership over some of the land at Rajhena camp. Currently, 86 families displaced from Mugu, 121 from Dailekh, 16 from Surkhet and 45 from Jajarkot, among others, are staying at the camp.