Kathmandu, May 23
A team of 23 people, who walked from Saptari with a list of 12 demands including the protection of Chure area, arrived in Kathmandu today on the 25th day of their journey. They have been continuously walking since April 29.
Sunil Yadav, coordinator of the Chure and Forest Protection Campaign, informed that due to encroachment and exploitation of the Chure region, drinking water sources are drying up, leading to difficult living conditions.
“Our first demand is that Chure and the forests there should be protected. Now, due to exploitation and encroachment, all water sources have dried up,” he said.
Yadav stated that land mafias are occupying Chure in the name of landless people, causing significant harm. “All that land must be returned, and the real landless should be identified. Additionally, open grazing and fires need to be controlled there,” he said.
The participants in the walk carried slogans such as “Save the trees for water, give water to the government, save the water and save the forest” on plastic buckets and clay pots. Yadav mentioned that they came to Kathmandu with a list of 12 demands.
Yadav also said that they came to Kathmandu last year with the same demands and reached an agreement with the government. However, as the government did not honour the agreement, they had to demonstrate again. “We arrived at Chandragiri on the 23rd day. Some friends’ feet are completely swollen. After resting there, we resumed walking,” he said.
