BAJHANG, July 17 -- A two-hour uphill walk from Khauladhar Bazaar in Bungal Municipality-6, Bajhang, lies a hamlet that overlooks green forests and rolling hills.

At first glance, the place, with its neatly arranged homes and majestic vista, looks like a tourist village somewhere in Pokhara. But its sleepy rustic charm is recently earned.

The village has had a riotous history, where for decades its residents fought among themselves for water. Such was the desperation and disorder that even the name of the village was Jhagada-which translates to 'scuffle' in English.

Today, the utterance of the name meets raised eyebrows.

The village dispensed with its old name after the municipal office constructed a drinking water supply project last N...