During road expansion in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City, on December 6, 2025, the Road Division used a bulldozer to demolish houses and left them partially destroyed. Work to fully demolish these houses is now ongoing with laborers, but without any safety measures, resulting in at least five workers being seriously injured so far.
Lorik Yadav, 36, originally from Parsa, currently working as a labourer in Hetauda, was seriously injured on December 12, 2025 after falling from the third floor while carrying a heavy load of cement. Yadav, who has been working in construction for eight years, suffered severe spinal injuries and is currently receiving treatment in the ICU at Sancho Hospital in Bhintunapath-1, Hetauda. A bone joint surgey was also performed with a specialist brought from Kathmandu.
Yadav’s wife, Babita Devi Yadav, said, “If he doesn’t work, we can’t make ends meet. There is no safety while working. We don’t have money for the treatment.”
The family, which includes a six-year-old son, depended entirely on Lorik Yadav’s labor. So far, the treatment expenses have exceeded approximately Rs. 400,000, but the contractor employing him has not provided any financial support, the family complains. Babita Devi Yadav added that they have been unable to contact either the house owner or the contractor.
According to Tirtha Shrestha, manager of Sancho Hospital, the hospital has been providing treatment on credit amounting to approximately Rs. 400,000, and the situation has reached a point where the hospital itself has to bear the expenses.
Similarly, Jitendra Maji, 20 from Rautahat Municipality-7, who was working at Buddha Chowk in Hetauda, fell from the second floor and was seriously injured on December 10, 2025.
Recently, he underwent surgery on his head, has steel plates in his arm, and also has issues with his spine. His sister-in-law, Babita Devi Maji, has been taking care of him during treatment. The injured Maji stated that it is still uncertain how many days he will need to stay in the hospital.
Meanwhile, on the afternoon of December 14, three more labourers were injured while demolishing the house of Biki Jaiswal in front of the Industry and Commerce Association at Pipalbot, Hetauda-1. The injured include Santosh Bhulon, 22 from Makwanpurgadhi Rural Municipality–1, Dinesh Chaudhary, 26 from Udaypur Gai Ghat-9, and Arun Chaudhary, 30 from Udaypur Belka Municipality-1. On the same day, with the help of locals, the police rescued them and sent them to Hetauda Hospital. The police reported that all of them are in a moderate condition.
Mohan Raj Joshi, Assistant Chief of the District Administration Office, Makwanpur, claimed that both verbal and written agreements have been made with the concerned authorities to prevent accidents during road expansion and structure demolition.
He stated that the relevant authorities had been informed to ensure safety and that security measures had been enforced through the police.
According to the labourers, although there is a provision that treatment costs should be shared equally when the contractor assigns the work, in practice, contractors have been avoiding responsibility, the affected families allege. When structures are partially demolished in the name of road expansion, the risk is borne by the labourers. Workers, without helmets, safety belts, nets, or other protective equipment, are still forced to work under hazardous conditions, and hundreds of them continue to face safety risks.
Hetauda road expansion has deprived labourers of their right to access necessary safety measures at the workplace. Nepal has ratified International Labor Conventions. Even though workers’ rights are protected under Article 34 of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, the Labor Act, 2017, and related legal provisions, obstacles in implementation have led to such incidents.
Due to negligence by the state, contractors, and homeowners, daily wage labourers and their families are left with nothing but tears and debt. Until an adequate victim assistance fund is established and effectively utilised, it appears that victims in Nepal will not receive immediate relief or compensation from the state.