Kathmandu, July 19 -- At around 9am last Thursday, long queues had already formed outside the Land Reform and Land Revenue Office, Bhaktapur. People clutched land ownership certificates, citizenship cards and bank documents, hoping to complete their work and return home quickly.

The urgency was theirs alone. Inside the office, services had barely moved.

As the hours passed, frustrated visitors repeatedly approached the service counter with the same question: Why wasn't anything happening?

The answer never changed.

"The system isn't working."

Many stayed, hoping the system would come back . It never did.

Ramesh Parajuli (name changed), a resident of Madhyapur Thimi, was trying to complete the purchase of a small plot of land. After b...