KANCHANPUR, Sept 30: While homes across the country bustle with festive cheer, delicious meals, and new clothes, for landless squatter families living in Banara Camp of Shuklaphanta Municipality-11 near the East-West Highway, Dashain remains a distant dream. Struggling to secure even two meals a day, the festival only deepens their daily hardships.
Recalling decades of struggle, 65-year-old Mathu Devi Damai said, “We have no land to earn from, our age is advancing, and labor work isn’t always available. One day of labour in a week barely covers our breakfast and dinner.” She added, “We wish to enjoy good meals and wear new clothes during Dashain, but without money, what hope is there? Our days pass just like this.”
At present, only the elderly, women, and children reside in the camp. The young have gone to India in search of work and have not returned, even for Dashain. Camp resident Deumati Devi Bohara said, “Without income, we had hoped to return home for Tihar, but this Dashain will pass empty for us.”
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The camp also lacks basic support for children and elderly residents who fall sick, making access to health posts difficult. “It has been over a year since we bought new clothes, and eating proper meals is out of the question. Just managing breakfast and dinner is a struggle,” Bohara said.
Donor agencies provided tarpaulins for the makeshift huts along the Banara riverbank, but the heat inside is unbearable, forcing many families to sleep under the bridge at night. Ranjit Rawat explained, “Some of us sleep on rope beds, others on sacks on the ground. Mosquitoes bite all night, and there are no proper blankets. We just try to survive until morning.”
Two months ago, fear of floods forced families to temporarily move near the highway, but they have since returned to the same location, facing the same problems. Dalbahadur Bohara said, “We have been sleeping under the bridge for years, but no one cares. We have repeatedly asked the ward and municipality for tarps, torches, and even basic facilities, but no one listens.”
Although local representatives initially promised to address their problems, camp residents say officials have now gone silent. “We have even stopped asking for help,” they said.
Twenty-eight families living in Banara Camp have submitted applications to the Land Problems Settlement Commission seeking land and housing, but no solution has been reached. For nearly two decades, landless families have lived in these makeshift huts. As with every year, Dashain brings little joy and much suffering to the residents of Banara Camp.
