Saptari, Dec. 24 -- Seventeen impoverished families from the Musahar community living along the embankment of the Western Koshi Canal in ward 8 of Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality, Saptari, say they face imminent displacement as India presses ahead with canal upgrade and parallel road expansion, just as a severe cold wave has crippled their ability to earn daily wages.

The families, who have lived on the canal bank for four generations, say bulldozers alarmingly close to their settlement. With winter tightening its grip, they fear their homes could be demolished within days, leaving them homeless in freezing conditions. They have been urging authorities not to dismantle their huts amid the biting cold.

"We have not slept properly for ...