Kathmandu, 18 May (H.S.): Landless communities across Nepal continued their strong protests today against the government’s ongoing drive to remove allegedly unregulated settlements and issue eviction notices to residents occupying public land.

In Butwal, located in Rupandehi district, thousands of demonstrators staged protests and raised slogans against the government on Monday afternoon despite temperatures soaring to 41 degrees Celsius. The protesters included large numbers of women and children from various parts of the country, while men participated in comparatively smaller representative numbers.

The protesters alleged that, in the name of protecting public land, the government had unleashed what they described as “bulldozer terror” without providing any alternative rehabilitation arrangements. Angered by the demolitions and eviction measures, thousands of landless citizens took to the streets demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government. Protesters also raised slogans demanding the return of their votes.

Amid the intense heat, demonstrators shouted slogans such as “Down with the Balen Government,” “Return Our Votes,” “Stop Bulldozer Terror,” “Regularise Unmanaged Settlements,” “Guarantee Food and Housing,” “Provide Solutions, Not Bulldozers,” and “Being Landless Is Not a Choice, It Is a Compulsion.”

The protesters asserted that under the pretext of safeguarding public land, the government had demolished settlements inhabited for years without making any alternative arrangements for displaced residents. They claimed this had compelled landless and unregulated settlers across the country to launch a mass movement.

Khagendra Poudel, coordinator of the Rupandehi Struggle Committee, stated that thousands of people from various districts participated in the demonstration organised by the Nepal Landless Struggle Committee. Protesters warned that if the government continued forced demolition drives using bulldozers, they would intensify their agitation further. Demonstrators argued that evicting people from places where they had lived for decades was unjust and inhumane.

Birendra Vishwakarma of the Landless Struggle Committee warned Prime Minister Balendra Shah, stating that the state collects taxes from citizens and seeks their votes during elections, yet labels their homes illegal — a contradiction he described as double standards.

He further said that the Prime Minister could not remain indifferent after displacing ordinary citizens who had lived in these settlements for decades. Ignoring the strength and anger of thousands of landless people, he warned, could prove costly for the government.

Vishwakarma maintained that landless citizens are also lawful members of society who pay taxes, participate in elections, and fulfil their responsibilities toward the state.

He questioned, “If the land on which we reside is illegal, then how can a government formed through our votes be considered legitimate?”

He also stated that during the monarchy era, many individuals had received land through royal authorisation orders, and ultimately all land in the country belongs to the state. According to him, the same Nepali citizens cannot be treated differently within the same nation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar