Himal Press 
ITAHARI: Valuable land belonging to Koshi Hospital, which had been used for commercial purposes for years, came under the hospital’s control on Monday after encroaching commercial structures were demolished on Monday.
With the removal of the shops built on the occupied land, the hospital can now utilize the property to expand its healthcare services.
Bulldozers were deployed from early Monday morning in the Hospital Chowk and Devkota Chowk areas of Biratnagar-7. A large number of security personnel were deployed to prevent any potential obstruction during the operation.
Commercial structures rented out by the Nepal Red Cross Society, the Nepal Tuberculosis Control Association, the Ganesh Temple Committee, and the Devkota Library were demolished.
According to the hospital administration, these organizations had erected commercial shop units on the hospital’s land and had been renting them out to third parties for income. The hospital administration has said that it would now use the reclaimed land in line with its master plan to construct new buildings, expand medical services and develop additional infrastructure.
Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Chandrabhal Jha, said the encroachment was removed to ensure that the hospital’s property is used solely for healthcare services. “Key facilities directly related to the blood bank, tuberculosis treatment services, and religious and social services have been left untouched for the time being. Only the commercial shop units were removed,” he added.
The hospital administration had issued a seven-day deadline to remove the structures after on-site directives from Minister for Home Affairs Sudhan Gurung and Minister for Health and Population Nisha Mehta.
