Phungling, Nepal – in the misty shadows of the Himalayas, will have to spend a decade as a guardian of the old ways, leading pilgrims to the sacred temple of Pathibhara deviated along the treacherous mountainous trails and through lush forests. For him, the burials of pilgrims assume 2,700 meter foothills with peaks of 3,794 meters transcend a simple work. It is a spiritual vocation and an act of worship.
But this way of life was threatened when a cable car project was launched in the Pathibhara region, causing demonstrations by the people of the Limbu community, who does not consider it as progress but as a desecration of their sacred lands.
The six -year battle of the Limbu community against the cable project of 3 billion Nepalese ($ 21.8 million), sculpting the Taplejung District, in eastern Nepal, has turned into violent confrontations, with clashes at the end of February, leaving more than 20 people injured.
“The project illustrates a broader trend in displacement affecting Aboriginal communities in Nepal,” explains Kalash Rai, a researcher at Martin Chautari, a non -profit organization based in Katmandu. “Resistance is part of a broader movement of indigenous peoples, which have frequently seen development to be at the expense of their terrestrial and cultural heritage.”
This conflict reflects a world scheme affecting the indigenous communities which, despite only 6% of humanity, saved a quarter of the land of the earth. A large -scale study shows that almost 60% of the land of indigenous peoples around the world are threatened by industrial expansion.
In Nepal, several development projects, including the cable car, the Tanahun hydroelectric project and a water transfer project between the Sunkoshi and Marin rivers for irrigation, led to the displacement of rural communities, destroyed ancestral land, disturbed traditional means of subsistence and damaged of crucial environments for these communities.
The latest site, called Pathibhara by Hindus, is known as Mukkumlung (“Stone of Power”) in the Limbu tradition. Khagetra fembu Limbu, coordinator of the joint wrestling committee, says that the oral tradition of Limbu Mundhum obliges the protection of nature and culture. Although he is not opposed to any development, he says that the Limbus insists that he should occur “only at the foot of the mountain” to preserve their sacred site.
About 300,000 Hindu faithful travel for hours a year at the Pathibhara temple, explains Aamir Maden, mayor of Phungling. The completed cable car would reduce a one -day hike to a 10 -minute driving, carrying 1,000 pilgrims every hour.
“The way the state includes that the land differ from an indigenous point of view. The state says that it will control it; The tribes say they will appreciate it, ”explains Ram Gurung, a speaker at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.
Historically, the Limbu people of Nepal practiced Kipat, a system of terrestrial regime and traditional and municipal governance. In 1964, the Land Act abolished Kipat, transferring all land to the Raikar system controlled by the State. Since then, the community has had trouble finding its political foot in the landscape of Nepal, their integration hampered by educational barriers and the sudden loss of their traditional governance structures.
The cable car project highlighted the historic collective grievance.
The cable cars symbolize the ambitious efforts of Nepal to capitalize on tourism, which represented more than 6% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2023. In 2018, the National Commission for Nepal Planning designated the project as a priority, approving the abolition of more than 10,000 trees on 4.97 hectares (more than 12 acres) of forest with a time permit of 30 years.
Beyond the environmental impact, the project threatens the means of subsistence of more than 600 carriers, 30 small businesses and 1,700 houses, explains Rajera Mahato, of the development committee of the Pathibhara region.
Among the people affected, there is Thag Bahadur Karki, 61, who built the Chandrama hotel along the pilgrimage route over 13 years. He now faces accusations of land encroachment while the cable car threatens to eliminate pedestrian traffic on which his business depends.
Despite the government of the training of a negotiation committee on February 2, led by the co-secretary of internal affairs, Prem PRASAD Bhattarai, two cycles of talks have so far failed. Bhattarai indicates the desire to respond to requests and says that everything is on the table, except for the cancellation of the project.
Gurung warns that once the construction, protection policies will eventually eliminate the indigenous forest guards from their traditional roles and the forest itself.
Each night, the trip of the owl to Pathibhara ends and every morning, he starts again with the same hope and the same faith. “We are not only fighting for our profession; We are fighting to prevent the erosion of Pathibhara’s power, ”he says.