Kaski. पोखरा महानगरपालिका–९ पृथ्वीचोकस्थित बसपार्क क्षेत्रमा वर्षौंदेखि सञ्चालनमा रहेका सटर तथा भवन खाली हुन थालेपछि आधा शताब्दीदेखि अलपत्र रहेको बसपार्क निर्माणको आशा पुनः जागेको छ ।
Hari Lamichhane, who runs a fancy shop near the bus park entrance, was busy removing the rest of his shutters on Friday. He said that he did not imagine that he would have to leave the place where he has been doing business for a long time, but now he is forced to vacate the structure after the process of building the bus park has progressed.
पोखरा महानगरपालिकाले गत वैशाख ३ गते बसपार्क क्षेत्रका सार्वजनिक जग्गामा बनेका संरचना हटाउन ३५ दिने सूचना जारी गरेको थियो । सुरुमा त्यो निर्णय कार्यान्वयन होला भन्ने विश्वास नगरेका व्यवसायी पछिल्लो समय जग्गाधनी र महानगरबीच भएको सहमतिपछि भने संरचना खाली गर्न थालेका छन् ।
बसपार्कको उत्तरी क्षेत्रमा रहेका जग्गाधनीले संरचना हटाउने तयारी विरुद्ध उच्च अदालत पोखरामा रिट दायर गरेका थिए । तर जेठ २५ गते महानगरसँग भएको समझदारीपछि उनीहरूले मुद्दा फिर्ता लिने र बसपार्क निर्माणमा सहजीकरण गर्ने निर्णय गरेका छन् । Along with that, most of the businessmen and house owners in the bus park area have started to vacate their structures.
“First, we did not think that the bus park would be built and we would have to leave the place. But after the agreement between the landowner and the metropolis, we also had to move. It is a good thing to build a bus park, but the metropolis should pay attention to the management of the displaced businessmen,” Lamichhane said. He demanded that in the future, if shutters or buildings are constructed for business purposes in the bus park area, priority should be given to the currently displaced businessmen.
At present, the work of clearing more than 320 shutters of the Bastola complex, which is on the left side of the bus park entrance, is going on at a fast pace. Other land owners inside the bus park have also started the process of removing their structures.
205 acres of land was acquired for Pokhara Bus Park in 2032. But even after five decades, the bus park could not be constructed. Instead, most of the land allocated for the bus park fell under the grip of encroachment. Now, it is said that only about 25 ropani of the original area is left.
Investigation of complaints and disputes regarding the lease, sale-distribution and compensation distribution process of the land acquired for the bus park is currently underway. Various complaints, written complaints and questions have been raised about the lease, sale-distribution and compensation process related to the remaining land after about nine ropani area was used for the construction of the bus park.
In particular, after the accusations that some people received compensation that they should not have received, inequality in the distribution process, etc., came to light, the metropolis formed a committee to investigate the truth. Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality has ensured the necessary budget through donor agencies, giving priority to bus park construction. With the progress of removing the structure, the hope of building a bus park has also increased among the local residents.
Another major challenge in the way of bus park construction is the management of landless and squatter families living inside the bus park. Nearly 500 families have been living in the bus park area for years. The municipality formed a land management (exploration) committee for their management. The committee has suggested to the metropolis that it can be restored in six different places.
Based on the same recommendation, the metropolis formed a technical committee to study the feasibility of land plot matching and infrastructure on 25th May. The committee, which has been given the responsibility to submit a report within seven days, is studying the assessment and management capacity of possible locations. According to Dhanraj Acharya, head of Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality, a separate investigation committee is also active to identify the real landless and squatters.