Biratnagar, Dec. 3 -- The government's announcement to release land frozen under the East-West Railway-specifically along the Kakadbhitta-Inaruwa section-has yet to translate into concrete action.

Six months after the declaration in the annual budget speech in May, to release around 2,200 bigha (1490 hectares) of land belonging to 5,400 landowners has not been implemented yet. The lands, which had been placed under freeze, still await formal release.

Residents across the eastern districts of Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari remain in limbo. As early as April 2025, a correspondent described how families who had been barred from farming, selling, or even developing their land for years now feel trapped on their own land.

"We feel like prisoner...