May 03, Kathmandu - Renowned medical practitioner Durga Prasai has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government's prioritization of relocating settlement dwellers over national border security.

Arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport to welcome former royalty returning from Pokhara, Prasai addressed journalists with pointed remarks directed at Prime Minister Balen Shah. He emphasized that instead of bulldozing settlements, the government should focus on the Lipulekh-Kalapani region, where Nepal's territorial integrity is at stake.

“Starting tomorrow, India and China will open roads to Manasarovar. Should we not send our army there? Shouldn’t we reclaim our land? Wasn't the Greater Nepal map adopted when Balen Shah was mayor? Why isn't that land being reclaimed? Should the army be deployed in settlements or in Lipulekh and Kalapani? Where is Balen? Instead of running bulldozers in settlements, he should be in Lipulekh and Kalapani,” Prasai said passionately.

He also criticized the government's treatment of settlers, claiming it perpetuates injustice against the poor. 

“It is heartbreaking to see the way the poor are being mistreated,” he added. “They are told they cannot live on someone else’s private land, yet their options are limited to riverbanks. A house is everyone’s dream. Without a proper home, they are compelled to live on government land.”