Landless people and informal settlers from across Nepal gathered in Kathmandu on May 11 to protest the government’s nationwide eviction drive, condemning forced demolitions and demanding land rights, housing security and rehabilitation.
“We are restless,” protesters said. “We only want to live with dignity.”
Around 100 representatives from 20 districts under the National Land Rights Forum (NLRF) Nepal assembled at Maitighar Mandala, warning that thousands of poor families face displacement as bulldozers continue clearing settlements in the Kathmandu Valley and other areas.
The protesters denounced the demolition campaign launched under Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government, saying it contradicts earlier promises to address landlessness and provide housing for poor communities.
“We have been raising the voice that landless squatters and unmanaged settlers should be properly managed, not displaced,” said Lyam Bahadur Darji of NLRF-Parbat. “But the government’s first action has been against poor and vulnerable people.”
Demonstrators carried slogans including “Manage the landless, don’t displace them” and “Stop bulldozer terror.”
Since April, authorities have intensified demolition operations in settlements across Kathmandu Valley, displacing thousands of families. Activists estimate that more than 20,000 squatters from around 3,500 families have already been uprooted in the capital alone.
Protests have also spread to districts including Kaski, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet and Rautahat.
Activists accused the government of criminalizing long-settled poor communities by branding them as “encroachers” while failing to provide relocation sites or rehabilitation.
“The government should protect people’s housing security, not deepen their fear,” said Phaud Singh Syangba of NLRF-Mahottari. “Forced displacement does not solve the problem.”
Many protesters shared stories of uncertainty after receiving eviction notices.
“We built our homes through hardship and sacrifice,” said Laxmi Bishwakarma from Makawanpur. “If our homes disappear, our lives fall apart.”
Renu Tamang of Rautahat said her family now lives in constant fear after local authorities issued a 21-day eviction notice on the public land where they settled after floods destroyed their previous home.
“We are terrified,” she said. “Whenever unfamiliar people arrive, we panic, thinking they have come to evict us.”
The protests come amid growing criticism over recent amendments to Nepal’s Land Act, including the dissolution of the Land Issue Resolution Commission, leaving more than one million land applications unresolved.
On May 8, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order barring authorities from forcibly evicting squatters without due process and directing the state to ensure access to housing, food, healthcare and education for displaced families.
But activists said demolitions continue in several districts despite the court order.
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