Hetauda, Feb. 22 -- The Bankariya community in ward 4 of Manahari Rural Municipality, Makawanpur, has been restless fearing eviction.

As many as 22 families of the endangered Bankariya community have been living at Musedhap in the local unit for two decades.

The settlement sits on nine hectares of land provided in March 2006, under the leasehold forestry concept by the then District Forest Office in Makwanpur. The land, located in the buffer zone of Parsa National Park, was allocated for 20 years to help integrate the formerly nomadic community into mainstream society. With just one and half months left before the lease expires on April 11 2026, uncertainty looms large.

The ethnic Bankariya community is one of the most endangered commu...