East-West Railway delay leaves landowners without pay

People in several districts in eastern Nepal have been barred from cultivating, selling or developing their land since 2020.

The East-West Railway project, initiated in 2020 during the premiership of KP Sharma Oli, promised to revolutionise transport infrastructure across the southeastern part of the country. However, nearly five years later, thousands of affected residents in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari district are still awaiting compensation for the land that the government acquired for the railway project. Their land is stuck in limbo—leaving them in hardship and uncertainty.