Himal Press 
POKHARA: Pokhara Metropolitan City razed residential plots built in the wetland of Fewa Lake in Pame.
Bhim Thapa, the municipality’s press advisor, stated that approximately 80 ropanis of land belonging to the lake had been reclaimed.
In response to widespread criticism over the metropolis’ perceived inaction regarding the ongoing encroachment of the lake, Mayor Dhanaraj Acharya directed the police administration to recover the lake area.
Two individuals, Devendra KC and Prakash KC, had initially sought permission to use the land for agricultural purposes. However, they proceeded to fill the wetland with soil and construct residential plots instead. Yubaraj Khatiwada, another entrepreneur accused of encroaching upon the Fewa wetlands, argued that the area does not belong to the lake.
Local residents of the area protested against the municipality on Sunday demanding that they be allowed to create residential plots in the land under their ownership.
The Pokhara High Court on June 1 issued an interim order prohibiting the creation of residential plots in the Fewa wetlands. The court issued the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate Manoj Gharti Magar. Gharti sought a mandamus order to prevent the creation of residential plots in the Fewa wetlands.
According to a survey map from the 1960s, Fewa Lake originally covered an area of 10 square kilometers. It shrunk to 4.25 square kilometers as per the 2001 survey.
