The border of Chitwan National Park. Nestled in the murmur of the Rapti River and the dense forest, there is a settlement where time seems to have stopped decades ago. When you reach Ganganagar Chowki Danda in Ward No. 13 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, you are greeted not by sleek and modern houses, but by low huts with traditional thatched roofs. The mud-painted walls and unmade structures show a pitiful picture of the economic and social condition of this indigenous Bote community.

This settlement, located about 17 kilometers from the main market of Bharatpur, is home to 40 Bote households. While the metropolis's 'smart city' and development are making waves outside, the Bote people here are still fighting for basic human rights, safe shelter, and their own land.

Earlier, this community used to live in a place called 'Basbari Khutuwa' across the Rapti River, but after the establishment of the national park, they were displaced from there, said local leader Sukram Bote. 'After the establishment of the national park, they were chased from there, and then they started settling here,' Sukram recalls, but the irony is that - after working hard on this land for six decades, they still do not have the land title deeds of the land they live on. 'When elections come, leaders of every party come and say, 'Let us win this time, we will definitely give them the land title deeds,' Sukram laments, 'but after winning, they never come this way again. We only got assurances, not rights.'

Without the land title deeds, they are always worried about being 'squatters' and that the state will take them away at any time. Since they do not own the land, they cannot get a loan from the bank to build a solid house, nor can they put up a mortgage to send their children to higher education.

Electricity has reached the settlement, but there are no lights on the street poles. Locals are afraid to go out of their homes because it is dark and there is fear of wild animals when walking at night. There is also another problem with electricity. A three-phase line is required to run a motor for farming, but only two-phase is available here. According to Santosh Bote, no hearing has been held even after 3 years of applying to the Electricity Authority for this.

The condition of education is also pathetic. Due to lack of finances and documents, the youth here study only up to the 10th standard. 'We also want our children to study a lot and get government jobs, but we do not have money, nor documents to put up a mortgage,' said Santosh Bote. They believe that the voice of the Bote community has not reached the higher authorities due to the government's failure to provide accessible education.

Fear of wild animals

This settlement has suffered greatly from being in the shadow of the park. Wild elephants have been harassing the residents here for the past two years. The problem of elephants destroying houses and eating crops has become common. 'Elephants come, destroy houses, eat and leave,' said 56-year-old Dilkumari Bote, 'Tiger, chital and leopards also come directly to the courtyards of houses from the lower part of the settlement. Leopards have come and eaten many goats.'

However, they also complain that there is discrimination in the relief distribution system of the state and the buffer zone. 'The buffer zone does not provide netting and tin in the villages that have been damaged, it only provides it where there is no damage,' says a local Sukram. They feel that the state is only looking at this small settlement as a 'vote bank'.

The wall to prevent wild animals from entering the settlement has now become the main subject of controversy here. Local residents are demanding that the wall be built from a little lower (towards the river), so that their small ghaderi is protected and landslides during the rainy season are also prevented. 'We only have one ghaderi,' asks local Deepak Bote, 'Even then, if we build a wall from above, our toilet and house will be cut off, where will we live?' However, the ward chairman and the park administration are insisting on building the wall from above. Locals argue that if a wall is built by using a dozer from above, it will collapse again during the rainy season, but if it is built from below, the soil falling from above would also be stopped. Due to this controversy, the work of building the wall has been stalled and the settlement has become more unsafe.

That ancestral decision and today's suffering

The ancestral profession of the Bote community is fishing and boating in the river. 'During the Mahendra government's time, our ancestors chose the river because our lives were connected to fish and water,' says local leader Santosh Bote, but now their original profession is in danger due to the strict rules of the park.

Now a license has been made mandatory for fishing, but even those who have a license can fish only until mid-Chaitum. It is difficult for them to make a living for the remaining 3 months. 'When we cannot fish, we look for work in the village. If we do not get work, we have to pick vegetables and sisnu to eat,' Sukram Bote told his compulsion.

There is also a conflict between the park administration and the community. They allege that the park staff arrests and tortures them even when they go near the park to find firewood or pick greens. Santosh Bote recounted an incident from last year, 'The park kept the women who brought firewood detained for 3/4 hours without even allowing them to urinate. When I resisted, they tried to arrest me and put me in a car.'

Election doubts only

As the next election approaches, political party representatives have started flocking to the settlement. All the new and old parties come here carrying packages of assurance. This settlement becomes a center of assurance for leaders during elections. Former mayor of Bharatpur Renu Dahal had come to the settlement during her previous term and promised, 'I will remove these huts of yours and build a pucca house.' However, according to locals, she did not return after winning. Now that he is going into parliamentary politics, locals say he came there to seek votes.

'When Renu Dahal came, we could not speak at all. He came at 8 pm making the noise of his bike and car,' said local Santosh Bote. 'It was as if he came to despise this small village. He did not listen to the people.'

Local youth Santosh says that Renu's competitor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) candidate Sobita Gautam, also crossed the road. 'Sobita Gautam also came in the same way. We were all at work. He went from house to house,' said Santosh. 'I don't know what he told to whom. He came. He went.'

The houses and roads promised by the mayor have not been built yet. Even though the ward chairman of ward number 13 has assured that the road will be paved, the road is still rough and dusty. Locals complain that this road, which has to be entered within 3 kilometers of the postal route, is impassable when it rains.