Settlement of the Brave

The Paurakhi Basti settlement, meaning "settlement of the brave people," was founded in 2006 by people who came to Kathmandu from various parts of Nepal and India during the democracy movement. Having no land or money to rent, they settled on the banks of the Bagmati River. They had previously cleared the area of garbage and debris to make it habitable next to a riverine forest in Thapathali.

Revered as sacred by Hindus and Buddhists, the Bagmati River was considered the source of Nepalese civilization. In the 1980s, the river was still clear and drinkable. Farms lined its sandy banks, and its water was part of everyday life. However, due to the rapid population and industrial growth in Kathmandu—whose population rose from around 400,000 in the 1950s to over three million today—the river became increasingly polluted. Unfiltered wastewater and garbage entered the Bagmati, which was heavily polluted by the mid-2000s.

In 2009, the government began a program to restore the river in order to clean the water, secure the banks, and prevent flooding. However, these measures threatened the informal settlements along the Bagmati. In May 2012, 251 huts were demolished in Thapathali with the deployment of over 1,000 security personnel. The replacement accommodations offered in Ichangu Narayan were too small for the often large families, and too far from work opportunities, so no one moved there.

Another eviction attempt occurred in November 2022, displacing around 300 people and destroying their huts. Nevertheless, around 300 people continue to live in Thapathali today, often in temporary shelters right by the river. Although clean-up programs continue on the Bagmati, the river remains heavily polluted. For people without land of their own, the struggle for safe and affordable housing near their workplace remains unresolved to this day.

Cameras: Nikon Zf, Leica Q3 (28mm)
Lens: Nikkor S Zoom 24-70mm/2.8
Strobe: Profoto A10 / Softbox Octa
Executive producer / Assistant: Christopher Jarvis