Kathmandu. The Ministry of Urban Development is to start the second phase of relocating vulnerable settlements along the banks of Bagmati River and tributaries in the Kathmandu Valley from Friday.
In the first phase, settlements in Gairigaon, Shantinagar, Manohara and Thapathali areas of Sinamangal have already been relocated.
A joint meeting of various government agencies was held at the Ministry on Thursday to systematize the process, which has completed the necessary preparations.
In order to facilitate the relocation, people living in risky areas will be taken to Dasharath Stadium as the primary registration center by bus. Three help desks will be set up in the stadium. In the first cell, information and data will be collected, in the second section for filling up self-declaration form and necessary social details for identifying squatters, and in the third cell, digital data collection will be done by a team from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Likewise, security agencies will help in storing and security of items that cannot be taken to the holding center such as drawers, tables and beds. Buses have also been arranged to take the families who do not have shelter or cannot manage themselves to the holding center.
The Ministry has also made arrangements for immediate health services, humanitarian assistance and psycho-counseling services. These services will be available at both the primary registration center and the holding center.
The squatters will be identified and verified on the basis of the data collected. Those who have not been identified will be sent back from the holding center. The identified families would be provided with the necessary support for a certain period of time and further process would be initiated for their rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, investigation would be carried out against those involved in illegal activities by encroaching on the river banks in the past and those found guilty
