Lahan Municipality Demolishes Market Structures; Traders Allege Discrimination

Lahan Municipality forcibly demolished houses and makeshift structures in Naya Bazar using a bulldozer, citing the traders' failure to vacate despite repeated notices. However, traders are accusing Mayor Mahesh Prasad Chaudhary of selective enforcement, pointing out that only seven of the over 200 structures in the market were torn down.

Local trader Ramsundar Sah stated that while they were preparing to clear the structures after receiving a three-day notice, the municipality deployed a bulldozer early Sunday morning without informing the market committee or traders. Saraswati Devi Nayak, who had operated a chiura and murhi business in Naya Bazar for about 35 years, described the demolition as devastating, with all her goods destroyed and losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees. She echoed the sentiment that only structures belonging to those not close to the mayor were targeted.

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All the goods inside the house were destroyed. I have suffered losses worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. Who will take responsibility for this?

Bhola Rai, chairperson of the Lahan Naya Bazar Committee, confirmed that the demolition occurred without coordination with the committee. He noted that an agreement to manage the market by removing structures was made about four years ago, but the mayor had since backed away from it. The committee had scheduled a meeting with traders for Sunday morning, but the municipality's bulldozer arrived an hour earlier, demolishing seven structures before the meeting commenced. Rai added that police briefly detained traders who protested by burning tires, but they were later released.

Mayor Mahesh Prasad Chaudhary explained that the municipality has constructed three buildings with 72 rooms on municipal land, intending to relocate Naya Bazar traders by renting out these spaces. He asserted that the old structures were removed as the new buildings neared completion. Chaudhary maintained that the bulldozer was a last resort after occupants ignored multiple notices to vacate. He did not directly address the allegations of discrimination regarding which structures were targeted.

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Mayor Chaudhary had backed away from the agreement at the time.