"After so many years I am able to return to my village," Shah said, adding, "I am very happy to get my property back." After the Maoists seized the land, the Shah family had been living in Kathmandu since the insurgency. The family was also deprived of the harvest all these years. The Maoists had distributed the land among 17 local farmers.
The agreement reached on Saturday between the Shah family and the farmers states that the harvest from the land will now be shared between the landowner and the farmers.
The land was captured in 2000 and dispute over the land had increased further after the split in the UCPN (Maoist) last year. After the split the UCPN (Maoist) announced that the land has been returned to the Shah family but Mohan Baidya´s CPN-Maoist immediately said the land was still in control of his party.
After Saturday´s agreement the CPN-Maoist in the district stated that it does not have any objection to the return of the land as the farmers involved have reached agreement with the landowner.
Swargadwari ashram may lose its 1000 bigaha land to ‘land mafia...