Nepalgunj, Aug. 23 -- Three months after bulldozers demolished their homes, families claiming to be landless squatters in Kohalpur have started returning to the site, carrying bamboo poles and tarpaulins to erect new shelters. They vow to stay there until the authorities guarantee permanent resettlement.

They arrived at Shantinagar area in ward 11 of Kohalpur Municipality in Banke, early on Saturday, where their homes had been demolished in May. Some cleared debris, while others erected bamboo frames and stretched tarpaulins over them. By afternoon, dozens of makeshift shelters had gone up.

The return has reopened a dispute over how the authorities should deal with people living on public land for decades. The families say they were lef...