Yesterday morning
I met Ms. Mina Koirala and few of her neighbours in Banshighat, one of 14
squatter settlements along Bagmati River in Kathmandu district. She has
been living in Banshighat since 1986 (V.S. 2043). When she moved there, there
were only five other families who had moved in 1983. At the beginning the
settlers were often threatened by the people from the neighbourhood (but not by
the government). Currently there are 105 families in Banshighat.
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| Ms. Mina Koirala |
Ms. Koirala along
with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons live in a little house
in the middle of the settlement. She is smart, energetic and very articulate.
She has been involved in various advocacy groups for the squatter rights.
Currently she is a member of the Central Committee of Mahila Ekata Kendra
(women’s advocacy group of the squatter settlements). She also ran for the
office in the last Municipal elections for Ward 11 Sadasyay (four elected
positions under the Ward alderman), but lost with a small margin.
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| Rear entrance to Ms. Koirala's house |
She and her family
have citizenship, voting card, identity card based on her current address. They
pay utility bills to the municipality. The Municipality has granted her son’s
marriage certificate based on the current address. Despite all this, they have
been notified by the municipal employees and security officials to move out by
July 29th. According to the information received all the 14
settlements will be demolished. But there has been no official eviction notice,
creating confusion among the squatters. On wee hours of May 8th, a
neighbouring settlement at Thapathali was demolished (http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=34794).
Ms. Koirala makes
her living as street vendor in Sundhara area. But unfortunately the current
government has banned street vending in the area for the past nine months. Ms.
Koirala believes it is a ploy by the current government to pressure the
squatters. She lambasted the current Maoist government severely. The Maoist
Party had promised the squatters their rights, but now they themselves are
evicting the squatters.
Further reading
on squatter issues:
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| The Kitchen |
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=34423
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| Bedroom |
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| From left; Shova Lama, Bedana Tamang and Sabita Poudel, Ms. Koirala's neighbours |
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