Tamang Indigenous Peoples and other local community members in Lapsiphedi (Bojheni) village in Sankharapur Municipality in northeast Kathmandu on Friday obstructed the Armed Police Force team that had come to build an armed police camp there. They had long demanded the relocation of the power plant at Lapsiphedi (Bojheni), which the Nepal Electricity Authority, a government-owned utility company, was likely to build with loan assistance from the Asia Development Bank.
Tamang Indigenous Peoples and other local community members in Lapsiphedi (Bojheni) village had long demanded the relocation of the power plant at Lapsiphedi (Bojheni), which the Nepal Electricity Authority, a government-owned utility company, was likely to build with loan assistance from the Asia Development Bank.
A contingent of the Nepali Army, armed police force, and police had reached Lapsiphedi (Bojheni) at the power substation construction site to build a temporary camp for the Armed Police Force. But Tamang Indigenous Peoples and other local community members have protested since early Friday morning, stating that they would not allow the construction of a camp of armed police in their locality. Soon after the armed police force team reached the site around half past five in the evening, there was a clash between locals as security personnel removed the obstructions.
Some women and residents were injured in the clash. According to eyewitnesses, during the removal of the barricade, a police inspector of the armed police force beat a protesting woman to death. But until this news is drafted, the name and address of the injured have not been disclosed.
According to RK Tamang a local, some protestors have been arrested and taken to an unknown location. He said, “There could be half a dozen of those arrested. It is still unknown how many have been arrested.”
Tamang Indigenous Peoples, along with other local community members, were covering the clash through Facebook Live.
According to landowners, their land was acquired using threats, intimidation and without conducting any consultation or obtaining Free Prior and Informed Consent of the communities.
The Nepal Electricity Authority wants to build a substation in Lapsiphedi (Bojheni) so that three different high-voltage transmission lines can bring electricity to homes and businesses. These lines will carry 400 KV, 220 KV, and 132 KV electricity, which comes from hydroelectric projects mainly in the Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, and Ramechhap districts. However, the Tamang Indigenous Peoples and others in the area have been opposing the construction of the substation and transmission line in Lapsiphedi (Bojheni) since 2015. They have been demanding to relocate the construction, citing that it would impact their customary lands, including their livelihoods, cultural, and ceremonial sites, and also cause a negative impact on their health and environment, as well as devalue their land and properties.
Although the Nepal Electricity Authority has already taken 170 ropanies (86.5 square kilometers) of land belonging to 70 landowners through repeated acquisitions for substations, despite the landowners’ protests. According to landowners, their land was acquired using threats, intimidation and without conducting any consultation or obtaining Free Prior and Informed Consent of the communities.
