Agrarian reforms initiated decades ago seemingly did not offer squatters much room for a respite. Perhaps, this is why, they want their pride of place in New Nepal. Even as the government begins what seems no less daunting than a Sisyphean struggle to remove the rubble of past failures, the landless squatters have issued a five-day ultimatum to the government to appoint their representative in the Scientific Land Reforms Commission (SLRC) and to implement the recommendations of the NHRC. In case the government did not pay heed, they plan to intensify the protests by taking to the streets, and as a last resort even call a nationwide chakka jam.

Squatters, no wonder, seem to have learnt the trick of the democratic trade. The Minister for Land Reforms, who reportedly has expressed assurances to set up an inclusive commission, may find it difficult to take the squatters, or for that matter any Nepali, lightly anymore, when groups tend to stage protests at the drop of a hat. For about six months now, they have been staging sit-ins in different parts of the country. The government must be able to identify the genuine squatters from the land mafias, who have encroached on swathes of public land, and turned these into their own. A new awareness has brought with it new opportunities and new problems.