Phewa demolitions, now halted, expose buffer dispute, selective enforcement

Residents and landowners allege that boundaries are unclear, enforcement is selective, and the 65-metre buffer rule does not have a scientific basis.

Manju Thapa, a resident of Khapaudi in ward 18 of Pokhara Metropolitan City, was jolted awake in the early hours on April 4 by a telephone call. While she was asleep with her two sons, her cell phone rang at 5:15 am, warning her that bulldozers were already descending upon the shores of Phewa Lake to demolish structures. By the time she rushed outside, an excavator was tearing Palm Beach Restaurant, located a stone’s throw from her home.