INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Kathmandu, December 21 Occupy Tundikhel campaigners today held a story telling session at Tundikhel as their campaign entered the seventh

week. Kathmandu locals with the support of rights activists and member of civil society have launched the campaign in a bid to exert

pressure on the government to stop illegal encroachment of Tundikhel and spread awareness among the general public about importance of open

space in the city. People representing civil society and human rights organisation today participated in the story telling session

At the event, The participants said the political parties had used Khula Manch, a part of Tundikhel, for protest programmes, rallies and

political gatherings in the past

&But now they have forgotten the importance of Khula Manch.& Khula Manch, an open area in the heart of the city, was in the past used as a

major venue for all kinds of political activities

Khula Manch is also remembered for providing refuge to thousands of people during the 2015 earthquakes

But since then, one-third of the open space has been used as a bus park

Similarly, a large portion of the open space has been used to store construction materials for the under-construction Dharahara and Durbar

High School

The little space remaining in the front part of Khula Manch has also been used as a parking lot with tacit permission from KMC. According to

historians, before 1950, Tundikhel covered an area ranging form Dasharath Stadium in the south to Rani Pokhari in the north

The area, which has been occupied by Nepali Army headquarters at present from Shahidgate in the north to Dasharath Stadium in the South was

a part of Tundikhel until 1967, according to Bhimsen Das Pradhan, a lawmaker

At present, the area of Tundikhel has shrunk to the Nepali Army Pavilion adjoining Khula Manch, which is not open for the public

Similarly, Khula Manch is also not open to the public anymore

More than two-thirds of the area is occupied by construction materials, while the remaining area is used as bus park, leaving no space for

the public. The post Campaigners organise story telling session appeared first on The Himalayan Times.