Nepal’s indigenous community fights for voice in massive dam project that threatens their homeland

In a monastery nestled within Nepal’s Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Ashok Tamang and his neighbors received shocking news that would forever change their community. During a July 2023 presentation at the Sonam Choeling Monastery in Mulkharka, government officials unveiled plans for the Nagmati Dam—a towering 311-foot barrier that would rise as tall as the Statue of Liberty near their ancestral settlement on Kathmandu’s northern edge.

For many residents, this meeting marked their first encounter with the ambitious infrastructure project. Officials painted a rosy picture of progress, promising improved roads, enhanced business opportunities, and increased income for the community. However, they conspicuously omitted any discussion of potential risks or negative impacts. “They only told us about the benefits of the dam,” recalls Tamang from outside his home overlooking the hazy Kathmandu Valley. “They never told us about the risks. Now that we know, we wholeheartedly oppose this project.”

The massive dam, conceived in the early 2010s, would span 125 acres—equivalent to 72 soccer fields—along the Nagmati stream. Its purpose is to capture monsoon runoff and redistribute water during dry seasons, ostensibly to help revive the sacred Bagmati River that flows past revered Hindu temples including Pashupatinath, Guheshwori, and Gokarneshwor Mahadev. However, the indigenous community now demands a democratic voice in determining their future, seeking to put the controversial project to a public vote rather than accepting top-down development decisions that could displace their traditional way of life.