Pashupatinath Heritage encroached by street vendors

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 8

Despite attempts to remove unauthorised mess of traders, more than 200 sellers and shopkeepers have been illegally setting up huts in the vicinity of Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), enlisted in the World Heritage Site. However, the PADT has failed to evict them or make them settle in the area allocated by the PADT.

The shopkeepers were making money for years by trading goods such as belts, clothes and other items even unrelated materials to worshipping rites and rituals in the Pashupatinath Temple.

"We've been selling goods, chains, decorative ornaments and garlands for more than five years," said a local shopkeeper on the temple premises. "We have not taken permission from the PADT to operate shop here," she said, requesting anonymity. "Neither have we paid any charge to any trade committee although a trade committee has been mobilising the shop owners here," she said.

She admitted that she was operating shop illegally at the site. However, she claimed that she was forced to sell goods for their livelihood. "The PADT issued notice calling us to leave the area. But we are not ready until the alternative management is settled for us," she said. She earns upto Rs 2,000 daily.

Ram Bahadur Karki, another shopkeeper among dozens of cloth sellers, admitted that he was running his business without permission from authority. "I am registered with a trade committee here by paying Rs 200 about four years ago. However, I have paid nothing to anybody till now," he said. "I've lived on this profession here," said Karki, who hails from Jhapa District. "I came and built my hut myself," he added.

According to the PADT, 30 stalls were made for the displaced people in course of land management in the area and flower sellers. However, the stalls are yet to be utilized. The PADT had issued notices with a deadline for evacuating the land many times. The last deadline expired two months ago.

"Those places were misused in grips of powerful ones. We are deprived of the rights to use stall though I was selected for the quota," the anonymous lady said. "The authority cheated us and cancelled my name," she added.

It was completely illegal settlement inside the world heritage site, said Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of the PADT. "There are about 300 shopkeepers running their business illegally. We've not allowed any trade committee to run business here," he said, adding that only 30 stalls were made for the genuine displaced ones.

"It's not their property to stick to the illegal business here," said Nahata. "One day they might claim that the Pashupati Temple belongs to them," he said. "If they're not ready to leave the place, we'll be obliged to use legal way," he warned.

"The given time has already passed and we can evict them any time," said Nahata. "When we informed them frequently, they said they would leave the area but still hanging around the restricted zone," said Nahata.