We Have No Place to Live: Nepal Girl Writes to PM After Bulldozers Raze Family Home

An emotional letter written by an 11-year-old girl to Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has intensified debate over the government’s controversial eviction drive against landless squatters in Kathmandu, as criticism mounts from courts, rights groups and UN experts.

The letter, written by Radhika Mahato , questioned why authorities demolished her family’s makeshift home despite their support for Shah’s party during the March 5 election. “Why did you demolish our house? Where should we live and study now?” the Class 3 student wrote in the appeal published by local media.

Radhika had been studying at a school near the Thapathali squatter settlement , where her family lived before authorities bulldozed hundreds of informal homes along riverbanks and public land in Kathmandu Valley. Her family was later shifted to a temporary holding centre in Banepa Municipality , nearly 75 kilometres from Kathmandu, disrupting her education.

“We don’t have money to rent a house,” she wrote, urging the government to provide housing and schooling for displaced children.

Over the past two weeks, authorities have evicted more than 15,000 landless squatters and demolished around 4,000 structures as part of a campaign the government says is aimed at reclaiming public land, beautifying the capital and improving urban infrastructure.

The demolitions have triggered protests, torch rallies and legal challenges across Nepal. Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order directing the government not to evict squatters without proper rehabilitation, warning that forced displacement without safeguards could create a humanitarian crisis. The court also ordered authorities to ensure access to housing, food, healthcare and education for displaced families.

Adding to pressure on the government, UN human rights experts recently urged Nepal to halt the evictions, saying many families received only 24-hour notices before demolitions began. The experts warned that emergency shelters did not meet basic human rights standards and raised concern over two suspected suicides linked to the eviction drive.