THIRD GOVT. ATTEMPT TO RELOCATE THPATHALI SQUATTERS ALONG BAGMATI Kathmandu, 2 Aug.:The Kathmandu Valley Town Development Authority (KVTDA) has decided to relocate 58 squatter families evicted earlier from Thapathali area in three river corridors inside the Kathmandu Valley, The Kathmandu Post reports. After holding consultation with the concerned local organisations, KVTDA on Monday decided to relocate the squatters in Manohara in Bhaktapur and Bansighat and Sankhamul in Kathmandu. The squatters already reside in all these three areas identified for relocation. This is the third time the government has decided to relocate the squatters inside the Kathmandu Valley after they were evicted from the Thapathali area in May as a part of the Bagmati development programme. Earlier, the locals of Kirtipur in Kathmandu and Sundarighat in Lalitpur thwarted the government's plan to relocate the squatters in these areas. Keshav Sthapit, chief of KVTDA says, the squatter families who are in urgent need of rehabilitation will be relocated in these areas in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. There are already squatters living in these areas and around 50 houses are unoccupied. “As a temporary measure, around 30 needy squatter families will be resettled in the first phase within a week,” he said. “We are planning to resolve the problem permanently by building concrete buildings and housing for squatters in appropriate location inside the Valley.” According to him, there are also some open spaces near these areas, which will be used for relocation plan. Meanwhile, according to Mahesh Bahadur Basnet, chairperson of the High-power Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilisation (HPCIDBC), the decision taken by KVTDA is against its jurisdiction. It (KVTDA) should take the consent from the concerned authorities including HPCIDBC, which is responsible to execute the Bagmati Action Plan, that includes eviction of squatters from the river corridors, he said. “The decision to relocate the squatters in the areas identified near the river sides is against the government's objective to evict them (squatters) from riversides and clean the rivers,” Basnet said. nnnn