Chandra Bahadur Baraili of Dhangdhange in ward 3 of Damak Municipality returned home from Saudi Arabia a few days ago. While working there, he said he witnessed drone attacks near an oil refinery close to his workplace, Iran’s retaliatory act after the US-Israeli invasion on February 28.

Following the incident, his company granted him leave. After returning safely to Nepal, he is now living in a squatter settlement on the banks of the Dhukure Khola, south of the 17-storey view tower in Damak.

His fear now is of a different kind. After hearing about squatter settlements bulldozed along the Bagmati and Manohara river corridors in Kathmandu, he feels increasingly insecure.

Baraili’s home falls in Jhapa-5, the constituency from which Prime Minister Balendra Shah was recently elected. Baraili said he had encouraged his family to vote for Shah while he was abroad.

“But now I cannot sleep at night, fearing the prime minister might send bulldozers here as well,” he said. “There is a constant fear that the entire settlement could be cleared at any time.”

The ongoing eviction drive in Kathmandu now reverberates in eastern Nepal. Thousands of landless families taking shelter on public land and riverbanks in Damak are living in uncertainty, fearing a similar eviction.

In Janaki Tol of Kharkhare in ward 4 of Damak Municipality, narrow lanes are lined with tin-roofed and makeshift houses. Rupa Darji, 56, has lived there for 22 years. She moved from Hwaku in Tehrathum in search of work and stability.

She says life remains difficult. A mother of four daughters, she collects fiddlehead ferns (niguro) from nearby forests and sells the vegetable to support her family.

Lately, she has been suffering from a chronic stomach ailment and cannot afford treatment. “I do not even have money [to pay] for [health] insurance,” she said.

After hearing about demolitions in Kathmandu on the radio, her anxiety has grown. “I keep thinking—if we are removed, where will we go?” she said.

Around 100 households live in the settlement, and residents say many share similar concerns.

Seventy-three-year-old Budhmaya BK has lived in the same area along the Dhukure Khola for 35 years. Her children grew up there, and her grandchildren were born there. She still does not have legal ownership of the land.

“I have spent my whole life here. Now, in my old age, I fear I may have to leave,” she said. Budhmaya wonders where she could go.

Squatter populations are also concentrated in wards 1, 7, 13, and 14 of Damak Municipality.

Local representatives and community leaders have expressed concern over any sudden action to remove residents.

According to agencies working on land issues, there are more than 6,000 landless people in the Damak area.

Ram Thapa, mayor of Damak Municipality, said identification documents have already been distributed to around 6,400 squatters. “Surveys have been completed in some wards and are ongoing in others,” he said.

On Monday, the Jhapa District Administration Office instructed all 15 local units, including Damak, to submit detailed records of squatters. The mayor criticised the move. “The administration issued the order without discussion. This is not appropriate,” he said.

Police also directed local stations to collect and submit details of squatters within a short time frame.

A model settlement has been established along the Ratuwa Khola in wards 1 and 7 of Damak Municipality, where 38 families have been provided with houses with two to four rooms based on family size.

The settlement was built in 2020 at a cost of Rs43.5 million, with contributions from the Damak Municipality, the provincial government, and the federal government. Currently, 23 families are living there.

An additional 15 houses were later constructed at a cost of Rs19.2 million.

Residents who were previously living near the Pashuhaat area in Damak were relocated to this area. However, Biru Rai, a resident, said the lack of land ownership certificates remains a concern.

“Without ownership documents, we will always feel insecure,” he said.