TITLE: 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.

AUTHOR: Steff Gruber (Switzerland)

Steff Gruber (1953) is a Swiss photographer and filmmaker. He worked as a press photographer for Keystone Press and was one of the first filmmakers to deal with the docudrama genre. He became internationally known with his documentary LOCATION AFRICA, about the shooting of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski for the film COBRA VERDE. His award-winning films were shown at various international film festivals.
Based on his interest in documentaries, Gruber began shooting photo stories in various countries that focused, in particular, on human interest subjects and humanist concerns. He produced many of his photo series over a period of several years, visiting places and people on repeated occasions.
In April 2020 Steff Gruber opened the Lumiere.Gallery with the aim of offering photographers a platform through digital photo exhibitions.
Steff Gruber is a member of the Swiss Association of Journalists and Photographers IMPRESSUM.