Gaj Bahadur Bista of Bani 2, Krishnapur Municipality, Kanchanpur, turned 65. He has been voting in every election since the referendum of 2036.

In every election for the past two and a half decades, his candidates have had the same demand. That is, the rehabilitation of those displaced during the expansion of the then Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (now a park).

He was displaced from the former Jhalari VDC 1 Hirapur in 2058 during the expansion of the reserve. He is currently living in Bani. For the past two months, the displaced people from the reserve have been protesting by building huts on government land at the Herbs Office in Mahendranagar Bazaar.
‘So far, we have voted for everyone, but no one has thought about us,’ Bista said. ‘During elections, everyone says that the first thing they do is to rehabilitate you, but after winning, everyone forgets.’

He said that in the name of rehabilitation, only the formation of a commission and recruitment of cadres are done. ‘What happens if you vote for someone?’ Our problems will not be solved no matter who comes,' said 70-year-old Tek Bahadur Tamta of Amargadhi Municipality-6 in Dadeldhura, 'Leaders and activists have started coming, asking for votes, we are even in favor of not voting at all, but in the end we will decide after consulting everyone.'

He was also displaced from Rautelibichwa in 2058. After being displaced, he lived in various places for a few years in the hope of rehabilitation, and finally went to Dadeldhura. 'A new constitution was formed through movements in the country, many governments changed, many elections were held, but our pain and problems are still the same,' said Ramesh Tamrakar, who was displaced from Bhatpuri in the former Bipaladi VDC, 'They say they will restore everything before the elections, but nothing happens after.' He has now stopped believing in the promises made by leaders. The promises received in every election have always turned into disappointment.

Recently, after the Genji movement, the participation of youth in politics has increased . Young candidates have also entered the fray . But the displaced people of the reserve have no hope that their problems will be solved . ‘Whether the new ones come or the old ones, we have no hope,’ said Tamrakar . He said that his father Bahadur Tamta died in the hope of rehabilitation . 

‘Our problems have not been solved for 24 years, sometimes we built huts, sometimes we built them, there has only been work of chasing them from everywhere,’ said Man Bahadur Dhami, who was displaced from the previous Dekhatabhuli 1 Dhaka, ‘Other work is going on, sometimes the situation is not right for our rehabilitation, sometimes the government is unstable, and we have been entangled under such pretexts .’ He said that now the situation has come to make a commitment in writing . 

The displaced people of the reserve have repeatedly protested demanding rehabilitation. Not only in Kanchanpur, the displaced people have also staged sit-ins and hunger strikes in Kathmandu. But their problems are the same.

Recently, during the protest, more than 200 displaced families have been living in tents on vacant government land in front of the Division Forest Office. They say that they have spent the night under the tents in freezing cold and even in the rain.

Even now, the displaced families are living in the park's edge, in the forest and in various camps. More than 600 families are living in the Dhakka camp of Shuklaphanta National Park, 180 in Tarapur and 13 in Lallare Danda. The displaced people say that 2,473 displaced families are living in 14 different camps.

In 2033, the then Royal Hunting Reserve was expanded to the east after it was declared Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve. By 2058, settlements were evacuated from the expanded areas of the park. The problem of displacement that began in 2033 has not yet been resolved. The eastern area of ​​the then reserve, which had an area of ​​150 square kilometers, was expanded to 305 square kilometers. Shuklaphanta was upgraded from a reserve to a park in 2073.

Commissions and committees have been formed since 2037 for the rehabilitation of those displaced during the expansion of the then reserve. So far, 32 commissions have been formed. The commissions and committees, which will be formed with a period of 3 months to a year, have not yet been able to identify the exact number of displaced people.

The 32nd Commission, recently formed under the coordination of former Court of Appeal judge Jayanand Paneru, has shown 2,027. Before that, in 2071, the Commission of former Court of Appeal judge Thakur Prasad Sharma had submitted a report stating that the number of displaced people was 1,480 and that they should be rehabilitated. The previous Commissions had fixed the number of displaced people at 2,473. The Commission led by Sharma is the 29th.

The subsequent two Commissions have taken the number determined by Sharma as the basis. The third Commission, formed under the coordination of Surendra Bam, had recommended that the displaced families identified by Sharma's Commission be given 10 kathas of land or Rs 60 lakh per family.

The 32nd Commission, which was last formed, submitted its report on 26 Poush, 2081. The committee has mentioned in the report that those living in parks and forest areas will be given Rs 1 million as relief per family and that they should be immediately removed from the forest area.