Hetauda Road Expansion Affects Locals, Protest Held in Front of District Office

People affected by the main road expansion in Hetauda Bazaar protested in front of the Makwanpur District Administration Office.

They chanted slogans and expressed anger, saying that authorities demolished structures inside the road boundary without informing them and against the order of the Supreme Court.

Earlier this morning, locals and business owners had cleaned the debris in front of their houses and shops. They removed broken walls and shutters from damaged buildings.

The Hetauda Road Division Office had issued a public notice on Mangsir 5 (November/December) giving 15 days’ time to remove all permanent and temporary structures built within 25–25 yards from the center of the road. This notice was for the road section from Ratamate to Buddha Chowk to Rapti River Bridge under the East-West Highway, and from Buddha Chowk to Samari Bridge under Tribhuvan Highway.

Since house owners did not remove the structures within the deadline, the Road Division used bulldozers to demolish more than 500 houses and structures from Ratamate to Buddha Chowk to Rapti Bridge.

The Road Division Office has now stopped the expansion work after receiving a writ order from the Supreme Court on Mangsir 19 (December).

Guru Prasad Adhikari, the head of the Road Division Office, said that they halted the work after receiving the official letter from the court on Sunday afternoon.

On Mangsir 19 (December), the Supreme Court issued a short-term interim order to not implement the road expansion notice in Hetauda for now.

Meanwhile, Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City has decided to help the families displaced by the demolition. Spokesperson Sabina Neupane said that the municipality will support and coordinate to manage housing for affected families.

She added that the municipality will collect details of landless families through ward offices, check the data with the Land Revenue Office, and provide housing through the project to those who lost their homes.

They also decided to request the Nepal Rastra Bank, through the Ministry of Finance, to provide loans at concessional (low) interest rates for affected house owners to rebuild their homes.