Restoring Phewa

The Shah government’s contribution to saving the lake will be remembered for a long time.

Phewa Lake is an enduring symbol of the captivating beauty of Pokhara, Nepal’s tourism capital. Perhaps the majestic lake and the legally-built structures alongside—everything from eateries and spas, to trinket stores and book shops—by themselves pull in hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city every year. It is thus logical to assume that the destruction of Phewa will have a direct and disproportionate impact on local tourism. The various people and businesses that have encroached on the lake’s catchment area over the years are thus effectively trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. They are also doing great harm to the local ecosystem that supports countless flora and fauna and gives ‘Lakeside’ its natural charm. Successive governments—federal, provincial and local—had been unable to clear these illegal structures, despite state-sponsored surveys and even court verdicts pointing to the urgent need to do so. Most consequentially, on 20 June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that a 65-metre buffer area around the lake be maintained as a “green zone” and that all unauthorised structures within that zone be demolished within six months. Yet the illegal occupants of encroached land, many of them adept at pulling the right political strings, time and again fought off eviction.